Ink on Porcelain
by Mister Vix
Summary: The paler the surface, the deeper the stain.
1. Chapter 1: Hey You

**Ink on Porcelain**

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Disclaimer:  
I do not own Petshop of Horrors. I only own my original characters.

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Chapter 1:  
Hey You  
_(Keep your claws out of me!)_

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Author's Notes:  
...wah.  
This is Alternate Universe so I don't have to worry about the actual plot.  
I'm writing this for the purpose of weird idea-getting-rid-of. It's been haunting me and driving me mad. Absolutely. I'm going to be doing some pretty weird stuff in this fic.

There is no Chris in this story. Sorry to all you's who's Chris-fans, but I couldn't find a niche for him so he's not here.

I refer to the Tou-tetsu as Tet-chan because I like it better than T-chan, even though I am sadly unable to read Japanese so I have the English translations of manga volumes one through eight. Go me.

This will alternate between Leon-POV and D-POV! Doo-doo-doo! Game boy noises.

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**Leon**

_There was a steady ringing. The kind that makes your head spin. It wasn't natural; it was like...like...something not explainable. A train wreck inverted and turned into a noise that was above human hearing. The ocean flipping itself over to bring all the water from the bottom up to the surface at once, throwing all the fish and the whales and everything into the air, just for a second the sky is the sea. Unpleasant and unnatural, but captivating; you can't stop staring in amazement at the chaos, it's hard to believe something like this could happen and you can only wonder why._

I shook my head, trying to clear it out. Just bizarro half-memories from the middle of a dream, my head trying to make sense of what weird experiences it had put itself through late at night after I'd finally managed to get to sleep. It had taken a bit of work; tossing, turning, muttering, getting up and realizing I had nothing to do to distract myself from my sleeplessness, laying back down, and repeating the process for four hours until, finally, I had growled, "fuck it," and just sat there, light on, staring at nothing. I don't even _know_ what all went through my head during the half-hour I just sat there, glazed eyes fixed to the wall; I just know that I fell asleep that way, and woke up on the floor with a pounding headache and weird, disjointed images and thoughts. The kind that, normally, flee once you've woken fully, abandoning you, leading you to simply forget your dreams entirely, like they'd never been. Only these ones were being stubborn, which was probably due to the fact that I was still tired enough, after awakening on the cold, hard apartment floor, to drop off three times so far while I was trying to dish up an incident report. I kept having to stuff my fist into my mouth to keep myself from cracking my jaws yawning, and my eyes unfocused with perturbing regularity. The most recent time I'd dozed off, Jill had had to hit me across the back of the head with a heavy stack of files to wake me up, and then I'd started and demanded to know why I was being harassed.

Now, of course, I think it was happening a fourth time, as I suddenly could _not_ see what I was typing at _all_. Blinking, rubbing my eyes, shaking my head—nothing made the words any clearer, a distorted fuzz. God damn I was tired. It was so tempting to just close my eyes...just for a second...just so they started working right again...  
...a second apparently turned into ten minutes, as I was pulled abruptly from my sleep when Jill swatted me again with her infamous stack of files, which was even heavier this time than it had been before.

"Gees, Leon!" she exclaimed, looking at my face, which I knew must look terribly haggard. "You haven't been getting any sleep at _all_, have you?" I shook my head dumbly, too groggy to even come up with a verbal reply. Her frown was slightly worried. "Man, look at you. You're a right mess, Leon. Maybe you should call sick and go home. You're really not looking good." I shook my head more violently at that, rubbing my exhausted eyes.

"No," I grunted, my voice a bit hoarse, "I'll just lay awake again anyway. 'Least this way I can get something done while I'm stricken with insomnia." She rolled her eyes, and I glared, though I was too weary to work up a good temper.

"Leon, look. What work you _have_ gotten done has to be done over anyway; look at this! It doesn't make any sense!" she pointed at what I had written, and I tried to focus. Gradually the blurred words resolved themselves into decipherable language, and I growled in frustration. Indeed, what was written there made no sense, at least not to anyone else.

—_why to turn everything inside out, three seven, hold, three seve—_

God damnit. I'd been typing out bits and pieces of my dream, just scattering them liberally along the page at perfect intervals amongst the actual report to render the entire thing a nonsensical mess. Snarling, I slammed my head down on the desk. I was too fucking tired for this. Maybe I _should_ just go home...

The decision was taken from me, when Jill suddenly reappeared—I hadn't even been aware she was gone—and grabbed me by the shoulder, bodily hauling me out of my seat.

"I talked to the chief. You're going _home_, Leon, and getting yourself some _sleep_ before you just collapse on the floor," she informed me, leading me out the door and towards my car. I swatted her away, furrowing my brow in annoyance, and managed to unlock the door to my car and get the thing open. Driving might be a trouble; I didn't know if I would be able to keep my eyes focused for the entire trip back to my apartment, and if I fell asleep at the wheel...

I set off anyway, homeward bound. My hands kept slipping on the wheel, and I imagine I ran several stop signs and more than one light, but at least I was getting _somewhere_. Unfortunately, I had no idea where. Until I pulled to a stop automatically, looked out the passenger-side window...my jaw dropped, and I was surprised it was even still attached. Outside my window was a familiar sign, announcing my current location as being outside the front door of Count D's pet shop. Goddamnit. How the Hell did I wind up _here?!_ I wanted to go home and sleep, not harangue some idiotic freak that refused to do anything but smirk at me over his fucking teacup!

"God damnit!" I announced aloud, slamming my fist on the steering wheel hard enough to make my hand hurt. "Of all the fucking places—!" I didn't bother to finish whatever it was. I was too tired to even _try_ to make it home; for all I knew, I'd just go in a circle and wind up back here again. Goddamn place must have something weird about it, that whenever I happened to leave a place without an exact Point B I intended to reach, I almost always ended up right here. I guess it was habit. I'd been going there so often, so certain every time that I would finally crack D's fucking confusing mysteries and land him up the river, I guess the directions to get here—from anywhere in the fucking city—were just sort of engraved into my brain.

I locked the car's doors and folded my arms across my chest, letting my head drop. Fine; if I wasn't able to fucking drive myself home, I'd just sleep in the car awhile until I was clear-headed enough to do so. My eyes fell closed, and within seconds I was out, though not in a very deep or restful sleep.

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_Turn me inside out too, I'll just join the rest of it. Everything's inverted, don't you see? Turn it all into noise and it'll all just sorta blend together, becoming one universal humming, and we'll send it out on the radio, and everyone will sing along. Doesn't matter if they have a radio; they'll hear it on someone else's, it'll overwhelm every station, and it'll circle the globe. A song for the world, I'll give it to them and turn it inside out and then they'll play it backwards too. At the same time. See what happens when the song of the universe meets its opposite. Will everything end? Or maybe it'll finally begin..._

I forced my eyes open, and I already knew I wasn't where I'd gone to sleep. I couldn't remember exactly where that had been; cramped, not usual, uncomfortable...right. My car. I'd fallen asleep in the car, sitting on the curb outside D's shop. So where was I now?

I pushed myself up, looking around blearily. Well, at least now the grogginess I felt was just the aftermath of intensely deep sleep, and not the gnawing, hanging exhaustion that weighed me down before. Hum. Wherever I was, it was a ritzy place; draperies on the walls, a big, thick bed, carpeted floor...but how the Hell did I get there? And where, exactly, was it?

Question number two was answered the moment the door opened. A monstrosity of reddish fur and bright teeth and small claws and curling horns with big, ferocious eyes leapt on me, snarling and attempting to remove a fair chunk of my flesh from my body. I shoved it off with a yelp, holding my arms up in an attempt to defend my face and throat from its small—but wicked—fangs. It was followed by a very familiar fellow, tall and slim and wearing something that looked remarkably like a dress—it even had flowers on it, for Chrissakes!—with two-tone eyes and perfectly tamed, glossy black hair. D somehow managed to turn his perfectly neutral smile into an arrogant smirk, and I glared at him.

"D," I addressed him simply, "why the Hell did you put me here? Hoping your damn goat-thing would maul me in my sleep? And how the fuck did you get into my car? I know I locked it." D _tsk-tsk_ed at me, shaking his head ever-so-slightly in that way that only he had perfected.

"Language, Detective," he said smoothly, conveniently ignoring my questions in favor of correcting my "mistake." As usual. I swear, could the man, just once, _please_, slip up, even a little? Just to prove he was another human? Why did he have to always fucking find a way _around_ everything, never touching on the real issue, screening it behind a million other fucking things?! I swear, the man would lead anyone around by the nose 'till they thought he'd promised him the moon, then he'd send them home with an instrument of death which inevitably turned 'round and turned the unfortunate victim into pet chow. Not me, though; I was wise to his schemes. ...at least to the point that I didn't walk right into them face-first.

"So how did you get in my car, D?" I demanded, glaring at him. His little smile widened the barest amount. He loved infuriating me. People get their kicks in the weirdest ways.

"Why, Detective, you could, perhaps, be slightly more grateful that I allowed you to rest in my shop...? I doubt that you would have been very refreshed by sleeping in your car. I even went so far as to change you out of your clothes so you would be able to sleep more deeply. Really, Detective," he shook his head like I was a spoiled child he expected no better behavior out of, while I was busy gaping in a manner similar to that of a fish.

"Wait...D...you...?!" oh...fucking...God. The outfit I was wearing _wasn't mine_. Holy shit. "You...!!" He just kept that little smile in place. Fucking Hell. That...that...that fucking _bastard!!!_ I felt my face practically going up in flames, as I stammered and stuttered, attempting to properly accuse him but unable to give voice the unspeakable horror of waking up in some of _D's pajamas_. I mean, they couldn't be anyone else's, unless he'd fucking _stole_ somebody's stuff. Sure, they didn't look like the kinda thing he wore normally—he was always bound up in those dress-things—but then, who knew? The guy had more riddles in him than a fucking Sphinx.

While I was tongue-tied, D just watched. If I could read his expressions at all—I was kinda hoping I was starting to get some vague idea of the things that went on behind those mismatched eyes—he was on the verge of laughter. Or the equivalent for him, Mr. Subdued Emotion. I swear, the only time I'd ever seen the bastard really angry was when animals were involved. Or his sister. Any other time, the fucker may as well've been a shard of ice for all the better I could understand him. And I imagined he could just read me like a fucking book.

Which was why I was very certain he knew exactly how pissed I was, even if I was currently inarticulate. And it really made his day. I was willing to bet he'd picked the lock on my car and dragged me in here, done all this, just for the sole purpose of seeing me mad. Nothing else made any fucking sense. Not that anything D did made sense...

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**D**

Leon was...quite an amusing sight. His face had turned a beet-like color, and for a moment I wondered if he was about to start choking on his tongue.

I suppose I did know what he was so upset about. Knowing the Detective, I'd somehow done him a great disservice by taking the initiative to help him sleep better. While I doubted sleeping in his clothes would have bothered him—it looked as though he'd been doing it for several nights, though perhaps that was part of the reason for his fatigue—especially with the incense aiding his sleep, I had been taking every precaution to make sure my dear Detective would rest undisturbed. ...of course, I had to admit, to myself, that I had further reasons for doing what I had done, but he did not need to know that... I had even gone so far as to put the blonde man in my own room, permitting him to use my bed! Well, I supposed nothing else could be expected of a human; he was too preoccupied at the thought that I'd undressed him—as though that mattered in the least—to ever think that I had done him a great favor. I doubt he would be getting any more restful slumber any time soon, especially with the childish tantrum he was having.

"My dear Detective," I said at last, cutting off his half-gasped accusations, "if you did not wish me to aid you in getting a bit of most-certainly-needed rest, you should not have gone to sleep just outside my shop. And your vehicle was also not locked; the door was hanging open when I stepped outside." He glared at me incredulously.

"It was not!" he said flatly, and he had that pout on his face that he always did whenever he tried to look threateningly angry. It was an expression that always made me want to smile more genuinely—the Detective simply looked so adorable when he pouted! "I locked all the doors, and my windows were rolled up. I'll bet you just picked the locks and let yourself in." I put on an indignant expression.

"Now, Detective! I would never do such a thing! Your vehicle was unlocked when I stepped outside," my words were the truth, and I believe that Leon knew that. He remained in silence; then, finally,

"Are you gonna give me my fucking clothes back or what?" he snapped, irritated but without much to be irritated with. Ah, Leon, as predictable as any human. I could not resist teasing him, just a bit.

"Are you certain you are rested well enough, Detective? I suspect there may be something amiss..." of course, what I said was perfectly true. There _was_ something not quite right. You see, I knew the reason why the door to dear Leon's car had been unlocked and shoved open; he had done it himself, in his sleep. I had watched him do so. Quite odd; sleepwalkers normally only did things that their bodies were accustomed to doing over and over again upon awakening late at night, and I doubted the Detective made a habit of sleeping in his vehicle.

"Just give me my God damn clothes."

Well, I suppose I would have to find out some other way, since Leon did not seem to be agreeing with me on that one. It didn't bother me at all; I was accustomed to working out secrets in a less obvious fashion anyway. In fact, it would have been unbelievable if Leon had said anything else; completely in the face of all the things I knew him to do. As it was, I just nodded, barely.

"If you insist, Detective," I said, more wandering than walking out of the room, taking my own time in reaching the place I'd put them. I was certainly in no hurry, and I saw no reason for Leon to be either, though he may have wished he had such a reason. He followed me impatiently, fending off another one of Tet-chan's attacks skillfully. He'd become accustomed to avoiding the Tou-tetsu's strikes, and appeared to do it on reflex now, without even thinking.

Out of the corner of my eye, I watched him. Just watched him walking after me down the hall, occasionally skipping oddly to the side in order to evade the flying bundle of teeth, claws, and fur that was Tet-chan's animal appearance, the blue silk outfit I'd put him in pulling tight around his form as he moved. Yes...that other reason I'd taken the initiative to change Leon into some more comfortable clothes...

It could not be denied that the man had quite an admirable physique, for a human. Rent, of course, with scars and old injuries, marring but not truly flawing his body. In the Detective's appearance, there were no flaws to be found; at least not by the eyes of other humans, and even my own standards had been met by this blue-eyed, bad-tempered police officer. No, Leon's flaws were hidden in his personality. His dogged refusal to simply open his eyes and _see_ what was surrounding him. His innate fear, so common in humans, of things which he could not rationally explain away with facts and numbers. And, of course, his utter hatred of myself.

I had no doubt that the Detective hated me with quite a passion. The fire in his eyes told me so; the way he was so quick to anger, even for his normally short fuse, whenever I was near or even so much as mentioned; the way he persistently attempted to accuse me of things, no matter how wild or outlandish they seemed. It was...disappointing. I was certainly not about to allow myself to truly care of the opinion of one single human in this vast, seething sea of the temporary, short-lived creatures, but it was disappointing nonetheless that Leon harbored such an unfounded dislike of me. Yes, I supposed, I did have a habit of deliberately angering him, but I do not believe that was why he could not stand me. It was simply my air of secrecy, of mystery. The air of, "I know and I'm not telling." He truly was a Detective; something like that must drive him to the brink of madness, because he simply didn't _know_, and he couldn't seem to find out. And that, of course, was something which I would not—could not—change, not for something so arbitrary as a human being.

With that thought in mind, I contented myself with simply watching him, his golden mane and fine body. A toy for the eye, and nothing more.

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**Leon**

Count D's shop always has that thick, heady smell; incense and old furniture, flowers and syrups. It was nearly enough to intoxicate a person, that smell, and the further we went down the hall, the stronger it became.

What the Hell had D been on about, something amiss? Who the fuck did he think he was, announcing there was something wrong with me just 'cuz I'd missed a few nights' sleep? I swear to God, that man was just astounding. The things he could come up with. And he accused _me_ of being outrageous!

Was it just me, or was there something different about that incense-stink? It was changing into something more sinister. Something that clouded thought. I felt like I was slipping back into that dream. I hadn't realized I'd stopped walking until D looked back at me, and... I slumped against the wall. What the...Hell...

_Shake them down off their high horses and make them see what you really are. Don't look back just yet; things aren't quite in the right position. If you make your move now, you'll ruin the sacrifices you've made to get here. I'll help you along if you just wait a minute. Hold onto it; it'll be turned inside-out with everything else, we'll put the sea upside down, together, it can be done. Remember; only you know the real idea, I won't share it with anyone else..._

I don't know what happened.

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Endnotes:  
Hn. I think I tagged Leon's personality okay, but I'm not so sure about D. Maybe a little _too_ distanced? ...well, I've started it now, I'll just go with it the way it is.


	2. Chapter 2: Know You

**Ink on Porcelain**

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Chapter 2:  
Know You  
_(Well...not really.)_

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Author's Notes:  
Gyuu! ::Wags tail giddily:: I got good reviews!  
**Desolation**, thankyouthankyou so much for reviewing!! Your fic "some kind of bliss" is one of my favorites ones in the section and I've re-read it...I don't know how many times so far. As far as D...uh...I seem to have a habit of making him slightly-less-perceptive. Hm...not good...  
**Redmage2**, heehee. The dreams are, indeed, confusing. And interaction is _fun!!!  
_**Ice Dragon3**, yeah, the switching of views can be a hassle for adjusting to the way the fic runs. Especially gets worse when the two characters are talking and it just sorta goes from one to the other, neh? Well, I hope to keep the POVswitching under control; typically I do it only at "pivotal" points. As for the "lyrics"...uh...there are no lyrics anywhere in the first chapter ;; The paragraphs in italics are bits of Leon's dreams that just randomly pop into his head. And yes, they do have a _very_ definite purpose...  
**Spare**, continue I do!!

Also, there will eventually be typos, because I don't have a beta-reader, I don't always have the time/patience to re-read my own chapters over and over, and I do _not_ trust the spellchecker in Word. Those who've used it may have noticed that it does some very odd things sometimes, and comes up with the weirdest "errors."

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**D**

Of course I had registered the unusual change in the air, but I suppose, in my own preoccupation, I had not really considered why there would be something so unusual in my shop. After all, nothing in here ever changed without my consent; why would that be any different now?

And so, I was rather surprised when I saw Leon's steps falter, the blonde practically falling, only the wall stopping him.

"Detective?" I inquired, but what he said in reply did not quite make sense. Then he toppled to the floor, and I finally noticed the scent that filled the hallway. What was it? It was unfamiliar, strange. But I was more concerned with getting the Detective out from the thick of it; while normally I could identify harmful gases with hardly a thought, I did not recognize this, and I had no way of knowing whether or not it might be poisonous to a human. I lifted the man without trouble—compared to the weight of some of the animals which rambled the halls of my shop, he was rather light—and had begun moving at a fast pace, not quite running, back up the hallway, when suddenly the Detective grabbed my shoulder. I paused, looking down, to see him staring right back up at me. But his eyes were dazed, faded and fogged over; he was sleeping with his eyes open?

"_D_," he hissed, and the tone of his voice suggested he was not so asleep as he seemed. Either that, or his hatred of me carried well over into his dreams. "_Let me go._" I declined to do as he said, instead moving quickly up the hall again, now noticing that, apparently, whatever the strange-smelling stuff was had been spreading through the shop. Here and there, an animal would be laying fast asleep, while others—reptiles and birds especially, I noted—appeared not to be affected at all. But every single mammal I possessed was quickly succumbing to slumber, and I was now frowning worriedly. What would this be, that was even enough to put Tet-chan to sleep? The Tou-tetsu was sprawled on the floor, mouth open, snoring quietly.

Then there was a low rattling sound, and immediately I turned my head to stare back behind me, trying to pinpoint the source. There was a loud crash, as of some large animal stumbling about in one of the smaller rooms off to the side, and my frown deepened. But Leon, still talking in his sleep, distracted me again when he jerked suddenly in my grasp. What he said was unintelligible, but I got the idea that it was more than simply the jumbled rantings of a man caught in a strong dream. Setting the Detective down on the floor, I turned, intent on facing this intruder directly. For I knew the thing that moved about was not one of my own animals.

"_Count D_," the voice was silver-spun leather; that was the easiest way to describe it. Great, hollow eyes peered at me, the color of the moon, from a dark place I could not recall. "_You will leave the man be. He does not wish for your attentions, kami._" I frowned, indignant.

"And who are you to be deciding for him?" I demanded, and there was a hideous chuckle. Shattering bells.

"_Who I am matters not, beast-god. All that matters is that you heed my words, else things may become...inconvenient for you. Leon is not so stupid as you think. He will not fall for your dark tricks_," the thing replied. I was about to say something, but it cut me off, hollow eyes flaring, something terrible rising inside of them for an instant. "_Hold your tongue, kami! Just do as I say. Turn and leave. I know you have many areas of the shop to hide in; go. Forget Leon is here._" I was not about to be ordered around in my own domain, and I think my expression made that clear. The pale eyes narrowed, and there was a rattling hiss, like a dying serpent.

"You will leave," I instructed in a voice that denied all compromise, "and you will not return to this place, nor will you disturb the Detective again." The hiss faded, replaced by cracking, abrupt laughter; I saw a flash of teeth in the darkness.

"_You do not even dare refer to him with his name! Pitiful creature. You all feel so superior to the creatures which you imitate, and yet you wear your fears on your sleeves!_" its voice was high and thin, as though it were short of breath from laughter. What was it talking about...? "_But, nonetheless, I must admit defeat for the moment. This place is under your control, and so I lack in strength here. However, do not think that I have given up. You will not have Leon; he is mine, kami!_"

And then the presence was gone. Already, the thick, sleep-inducing fog was lifting, and the animals were coming back to their senses one by one. Leon as well; he stirred, mumbling something incoherent.

* * *

**Leon**

My head hurt like Hell. Absolute fucking Hell. All its hounds and demons.

There was a silver mist drifting around. Had I seen it before? It was fading now...gone. Gone like that...no, what? I had no idea. Holy fuck, I was losing my mind...

D was standing over me, but he was facing the other way. Ignoring me. Alright, that was fine by me; I was perfectly okay with being ignored while I tried to figure out who the Hell just ran me over with a tour bus. That's seriously what it felt like. Crushed under the tires.

What the fuck had happened? I got up after some difficulty, one hand clutching my skull in a vain attempt to keep it from coming apart on me. D still wasn't paying attention. I growled in frustration—this was undoubtedly all the Chinese man's fault, and he didn't even have the decency to _look_ at me?!—and the Count started, turning around quickly. He looked surprised, but almost immediately had smoothed his expression back into one that was perfectly composed, controlled. Goddamn him. He had the nerve; I knew, he was gonna pretend nothing had happened. I wasn't fucking standing for it, not this time. No way in Hell would I let D try to jerk me around by the collar again.

"What the fuck just happened?" I demanded, and D raised an eyebrow at me. I knew what was coming—"Language, Detective"—so I forestalled it. I grabbed the man by the collar of his stupid dress-thing, surprised I didn't simply tear the fabric when I jerked him up into the air, staring straight into perfectly placid eyes of disorienting shades. "What—the—fuck—happened—here?!" _Now_ D seemed to realize he wasn't going to be able to just dance around this one. His face remained frozen in its almost-expressionless expression, but his eyes flickered darkly. I'd say he was angry at me, but I didn't fucking care. I was angry enough for the both of us, even if he wasn't.

"I do not know, Detective," he replied at last, and I spat out quite a variety of curses, most of which were aimed at him. He remained unfazed.

"Don't give me that bullshit," I said at last. "You know perfectly well what happened. You always fucking _know_, bastard, so don't _try_ any of your usual shit with me!" I shook him, and then yelped when sharp fangs dug into my leg. I'd forgotten about the Goddamn goat-thing! And I was _not in the fucking mood to deal with this!!!_ "Let _go of me!!!_" I kicked the evil ball of fur full in the side, surprised I didn't hear ribs snapping. The demonic puff was sent bouncing away, and the moment its progress along the floor of the shop was halted by the wall, it remained still. I wasn't stupid enough to think it was dead, but I could wish.

D was staring at me without blinking, and now I recognized the darkness to his eyes. Fear.

* * *

**D**

I did not know what was going on. I had absolute no idea. The creature in the shop—the smell that had knocked out Leon—the sleep talking—the Detective's poor state when I'd found him—and now, whatever it was I saw in those fearsome blue eyes that stilled my tongue and held me in an unbreakable fixation. They were all pieces to a puzzle, but I didn't know what I was trying to fit together. I hadn't even known there was a puzzle to be solved, but now I realized it. Oh yes, very much so.

Tet-chan was trying to recover from the blow he'd received; it had knocked all the air from his lungs, and now he was wheezing thinly, wiping his own blood from his lips. I would not have thought a single blow from a human could've fazed the Tou-tetsu, let alone make him cough blood, but at the moment I was more concerned with watching Leon's eyes.

He was enraged. The anger I'd seen in him before, all the times the humans had broken their contracts and been punished for it...that had been righteous anger, the desire to see "justice" done, to receive payback for the loss of life that cut the man so deeply, even when he'd never heard of the victim before their unfortunate end. But now, this was different. This was no passionate flame. This was no pain-riddled rage against cruelties done to his kind. This was pure, white-hot fury, thick with hatred and disgust. This was the result of being toyed with one time too many. This was the result I'd never foreseen; the one option I had never considered Leon would ever be even capable of taking. I had always assumed that he would, in the end, become tired of my—I will admit—slightly childish habit of deliberately angering him, and would either refuse to show his temper or would, after one final storm, charge off and never return again. Or perhaps simply allow himself to be played, as he had thus far, tolerating my amusements for the sake of hopefully landing a successful accusation against me.

I had never thought that the Detective's self-righteous anger would turn into the truest form of rage. A rage powerful to the point that shouting was no longer needed; a rage that set a fire burning blue. It was a rage that I had rarely seen, and had never before been aimed at myself. The effect...was profound.

I was not frightened of Leon. Not in the sense in which people usually think of fear; I knew that virtually nothing the human could do to me would in any way endanger my life. My fear was of something that would affect me far more; my fear was that something of the beast's words had been truth. My fear was that I _had_ a fear, ironic as that may have seen, and that it was indeed apparent. And that the Detective may have found it, even if I was not sure myself what it was. Could that be done? I was not sure. I did not, as the officer accused, know everything.

And now, I knew, I was pushing things very much past their limits. The Detective was not a patient man, and I had remained silent far too long for his liking. The flame in his eyes vanished. He had just decided. I was no longer worth his time.

He dropped me to the floor without any pretence of being gentle, looking down at me like I was some disgusting creature.

"I'm done with it, D. Your holier-than-thou attitude and your deadly secrets. I'm done with you. Give me back my stuff, and I'll be going," then he just folded his arms and watched me, waiting for me to do as he said. I stood slowly, but did not immediately head down the hallway. It would have, I supposed, been the smartest thing to do; I would simply give the Detective his belongings, and he would leave, and I would never again have to concern myself over him. I would never again have to tolerate his vile language and his terrible manners and his constant shouting.

Q-chan appeared seemingly out of nowhere, chittering, scolding me in his sharp, squeaking tongue. I ignored him for the most part, though the point of his message was clearly conveyed to me; I should give the human his things and be glad he was gone at last. Q-chan had always despised the man, as had Tet-chan and a few other of the animals who thought the brash, loud-mouthed Detective was nothing more than a disturbance of their peace.

Why, then, was I so reluctant to acquiesce? The animals, Q-chan, Tet-chan, my own common sense...all agreed that this was a very fortunate happening, that the Detective was finally finished with this place. Why did I seem to disagree? I just stood there, looking at him, and I don't know what I was hoping to see. His expression failed to change, his usual impatience apparently vanished for the moment.

At last, I lowered my gaze, turned away, and went down the hall in silence. He did not follow me this time; probably nervous about a repeat incident of what had just happened. What I would not, could not, explain. How could I attempt to say what had happened, when the idea I had was so vague it was eluding my own grasp? How could a human ever hope to comprehend something that even a kami such as myself could not? No; it was impossible.

As soon as I had reached the end of the hall, pulling Leon's clothes from where I had placed—I suppose hidden was more like—them, I paused, closing my eyes, trying to think. Back here, where the darkness was thicker—though not thick enough to explain the way those moon-tinted eyes had stared at me from absolute shadow—I allowed myself to contemplate my own thoughts, wondering at them and all their disorganization. It was not at all like me to be so confused, though I had to admit the events that caused the jumble were most unusual.

The thing I wondered most was what the animal with those pale, hollow eyes had been. I had never seen such eyes; they did not belong to any of the creatures I had ever owned, or even encountered. Where would such a beast come from? I had traveled the world several times; I thought I knew all of the animals that traversed it, from the depths of the oceans to the heights of the skies. Beasts which mankind had never given a name, archaic, ornate monsters which had never existed in any realm, fantasy or otherwise, save one of their own making, a little pocket of ideallic existence in which they thrived against all the apparent laws of nature. Horrible things which had once slayed and devoured entire countries, before their age of ruling had passed and they had become reclusive, fearful of the humans which they once slaughtered wontonly. Beautiful animals which watched over those who never even noticed them, the silent and unappreciated protector.

I had seen them all. There were none which I did not know. From the creeping insects, to the flying birds, they were all known to me. Why, then, could I not place the owner of those terrible eyes?

This question so preoccupied me, as I made my way back up the hall, that I never even noticed when Leon, finally grown impatient, snatched his things from my arms and was gone. I was pulled back to the real world when the door slammed shut behind him, and I watched the closed door with widened eyes. What had I just done? I had chased the Detective away, was what I had done. I should have been pleased. I should have been relieved.

I was only distressed.

* * *

**Leon**

God damn that Chinese bastard and all his fucking lies. I was sick of it. Sick to death of it. Never again; I wouldn't be dealing with it anymore. He would never have to lie to me again.

What would I do if there was another case with a homicidal pet? I didn't really know. But since I could never get sufficient dirt on D, it didn't matter; nothing would change, except that I wouldn't get so frustrated trying to work answers out of the man. I was not going back into that place, with its Hellish beasts and its fucking incense that screwed with your thoughts and its Goddamn way of ignoring the general _rules_ of the way things were _supposed_ to work.

I went back to my apartment. There was no way I was going back into work now; I didn't even know what time it was. It never occured me to look at the digital clock set in the dashboard. I was too worked up to do anything.

Only I hardly felt worked up at all. I just felt...I don't know. Like something was breathing down my neck, now that I'd gotten out of the petshop. Like, the moment I'd stepped out that Goddamn door for the last time, something had started fucking _staring_ at me. Just _waiting_.

"Fuck it," I growled, stopping the car in front of the apartment building and clambering out. I stormed up to my apartment, unlocked the door and left the keys in it, then practically tore off that fucking silk outfit D had stuffed me in, throwing it in the corner and replacing it with my own clothes. That accomplished, I plunked down on the couch, sitting there and glaring at nothing in particular.

_Do you see that it's time now? Turn sound inside out, and I'll give you everything you want. Anything you desire. I can do it all, you know...just help me, and I'll help you, pay you...I'll live for only you if you do this for me..._

I heard a sound like clinking metal and claws scrabbling on hard floor. A thin, papery rustle as well. And I looked over my shoulder, straight into huge, hollow eyes, discs of captured moonlight.

"_Leon..._"

* * *

Endnotes:

Ah-huh. Maybe again with the D-being-a-bit-more-dumb-than-normal. I have no excuse except for plot necissity, which is a sucky one, so I'll just hang my head and shame and go hide in a corner again...


	3. Chapter 3: Caught You

**Ink on Porcelain**

* * *

Chapter 3:  
Caught You  
_(Don't you wonder what's going on?)_

* * *

Author's Notes:  
Making sudden changes which cause you to need to delete all those chapters you managed to finish ahead of time is not fun, but, unfortunately, a necessity...

The **_bold italics_** crap is indicating a language the character doesn't understand, and don't try looking for a translation anywhere—it's not a real language. I made it up. It'll be spattering about, but don't worry—I won't leave you in the dark forever.

**Aki8**, yus indeed, never met someone quite like Leon...  
**Tysoso Kalli**, glad to make your PSoH hunting worthwhile!

* * *

**D**

I had spent the rest of yesterday after Leon's departure and this morning mulling over all the possibilities of that strange creature, going over everything I remembered of my ventures to find new and rare beasts. No answers presented themselves; I simply had not the faintest clue what sort of animal might have come into the shop.

The beast had claimed that Leon was its own. _He is mine, kami!_ The statement, made with such certain finality, rang through my mind. I paced up and down the hall with perfectly measured steps, the whisper of my cheongsam making up for the silence. The animals were still. Tet-chan, still upset over having been kicked—rather hard; he bore a large, ugly bruise over his ribs—was somewhere deep in the shop, likely sulking. Q-chan had fallen asleep on one of the rafters overhead.

I did not think I should be concerned what became of Leon. It was not my problem if there was some beast hunting after him. ...the animal had told me, quite clearly, to stay out of its way. Was I about to take my orders from a beast? I did not think so. No, I did not think so at all.

Nodding, pleased with having found this reason to search for the creature, I was just about to begin preparing for the hunt when there came a timid knock on the front door. I looked up curiously, putting on my usual calm smile, crossing the room and opening it slightly. It was Jill, her eyes shaded and nervous, a worried frown drawing the corners of her mouth down. I swung the door open more fully.

"Why, Miss Jill. To what do I owe this visit?" I asked pleasantly, not allowing her jittery attitude to affect my own. She looked around as though someone might be watching.

"D? Can I come in?" the woman asked, her voice quiet, and I nodded, stepping out of the way and closing the door behind her.

"You seem quite upset, if I may say so," I murmured, and she nodded, running a hand back through her hair.

"Yeah. Hey, have you seen Leon lately?"

I allowed myself to raise my eyebrows slightly.

"Detective Orcot? Why, he was here only yesterday. He had been attempting to drive home and had become disoriented. I found him sleeping in his car outside the shop, so I allowed him to sleep here until he was rested enough to go home," I said quietly. "Why?"

"He's...he's vanished," Jill replied after a brief silence. "The chief tried calling his apartment, but there was no answer. I was a little worried about him since he'd been in such bad shape the day before, so I decided to stop by and..." She paused, looking down at the floor, and shook her head. "His car was parked outside, and the keys were still in the apartment door. The couch was overturned, and there were some long scratch marks on the floor like it'd been struck with something sharp, but other than that we didn't find anything. Well, no; we found a long, silver-colored feather, but we couldn't identify what sort of bird it came from, nor could we figure out how a bird could have gotten into Leon's apartment. He didn't buy a bird from you, did he?"

"No, he did not," I replied, shaking my head slightly. My thoughts were now elsewhere. Leon had dissappeared?! I was far too slow; I should have been out looking for that animal immediately after the man had left! The fact that the animal had feathers, which meant it was very likely it was some sort of a bird, would make this even more difficult; I had no doubt it would be large and strong enough to carry a human while flying, which meant that it could be far from here by now. There was a slight chance that it was incapable of flight, but not enough of one to hope for such a thing. I certainly had my work cut out for me.

"I hope you find him, Miss Jill, and soon," I said finally. "However, if you would excuse me, I am afraid I have some rather important business to attend to." She nodded and left without another word. Likely she thought me cold, shrugging off the fact that the Detective had, for all appearances, been kidnapped. How could she know that my important business was finding him? I knew the police force would turn up nothing; they would never expect for the blonde officer to have been carried off by a bird.

Venturing deep into the shop, I found Tet-chan curled up on my bed, sound asleep. Gently shaking the Tou-tetsu's shoulder, I called the ram-horned beast to wakefullness.

"Wake up, Tet-chan. I want you to help me find Leon."

* * *

**Leon**

When I woke up, the headache that I'd had when I'd woken up after that incense-induced-sleep in D's petshop seemed like nothing compared to the one I had now. I groaned, eyes tightly shut, hands clenched against the sides of my pounding head. There was a low thud somewhere far off and I whimpered, curling myself up tighter, trying to protect myself from further pain.

More shuffling, more clinking, and finally the click of a door shutting. Then the real lure; I could smell something, some kind of roast or something at a guess, and it was making my mouth water, making me quickly forget the wretched headache. Okay, so I wasn't _starving_ or anything, but it'd been quite a while since I'd had anything really good to eat. Of course I wondered where I was. Of course I remembered, vaguely, looking back over my shoulder and going into a state of shock at seeing...something...looming behind me, saying my name. Then a thick, grayish fog—like the one in the petshop—and the next thing I knew...

I forced my eyes open, squinting, blinking rapidly, and felt for all the world like I'd gotten a whopper of a hangover. Only without the benefit of being drunk beforehand. Then I sat up, much to the complaint of my poor skull, and looked around to see where my captor had left me, apparently alone. The creepy thing was, the room reminded me almost of an inverted form of D's petshop. Everything was done so richly I almost—_almost_—felt bad about laying in the canopied, four-poster bed. But everything was in pale, nearly pastel colors—pale grays and blues, mostly, with an off-white carpet—and the lightsource was not some shifty-looking lamps or something utterly indeterminable, but a broad picture window set in the wall, which revealed a scene I definately did not recognize; a deep, tree-flooded valley, which we were apparently on the topmost outer hill of, looking out across the whole thing. It really was quite an impressive view—especially for me, seeing as I couldn't remember the last time I'd seen so many great big trees, except for in those weird dreams with D occasionally, and that didn't count—but I wasn't about to waste time with damn trees.

I slid off the bed, where I'd been nearly buried under thick blankets and quilts, and almost sank into the thick carpet. It had to've been at least three inches thick. The room was pretty cool, almost but not quite enough to warrant a shiver, which explained all the blankets.

But what _really_ caught my attention was the table. Specifically, what was _on_ the table. Set out in a set of silver dishes and crystal glasses which were probably worth more than my _life_ was a veritable feast. And a rather simple-looking—comparitively—white card, which I picked up. It was scrawled on in an elegant but hasty script, a little hard to read but not impossible.

"_Leon_,_"_ the thing read, _"I am sorry to say I was a bit too pressed for time to speak with you in person this morning. As it is, I hope I shall finish with other matters so that I may get a chance to talk to you this evening. I am sure you will have many questions as to why I 'kidnapped' you and brought you here. I hope you enjoy your meal; I made it a large one, as I will likely not have time to bring you anything else until tonight._

—_Eilouran."_

"Damn right I'll have questions," I growled, crushing the card into a little ball. I glared at the table with its tempting offer of food. Well, why the Hell should I starve myself? Didn't matter who had made it, really. If this "Eilouran" had wanted me to be dead, it was doubtful I would've woken up here. And I would have a damn hard time escaping if I was too hungry to move.

I couldn't even pronounce this guy's name, and he goes and whisks me off somewhere? God_damnit!_ First D's, now this...Eel-person's, why the _fuck_ did I keep waking up in other people's beds?! I mean, God, was it too much to ask I get a decent night's sleep without some kind of trauma involved?!

_How will we put it on the radio now? Give me your hand; I'll lead you though there's only room for two. You'll leave the rest; flip the ocean upside down—**Shie-Hyen Fenne, Iidas'tal, asch nerrgetke.**_

In the split-second it took me to realize the voice was only an echo of my weird dreams, I had already whirled around, half-expecting to come face to face with...what? I had no idea. Hunching my shoulders, I decided to leave whatever was left on the table. Suddenly I really couldn't finish it, whether or not I would need the energy to get outta here. Instead, I started to inspect the room more thoroughly.

Two doors. One just opened up onto a bathroom; the other was locked. After less than a moment's consideration, I decided to try and make a break through the locked door, hoping the wood surface wasn't just covering up a metal core.

Take a few steps back, deep breath, prime yourself, shoulders set so it won't jar quite so bad, run—!

Made contact with the door, and _something_ splintered. For one painful second I thought it was me, but then I came more ty my senses and saw the door had ripped itself free from the lock, and was slowly drifting open. What the Hell...? There was no way the door would've been broken so easily, unless it was really cheap. Or rigged. Considering the quality of the room I was in, I suspected the latter. Shit. Still, I wasn't about to hang around, trap or no. Putting all my trust into my hopefully accurate sense for impending doom, I crept out stealthily, looking up and down the hall but spotting nothing. Okay, so if there's a trap, it's not an obvious one. The door marked "stairs" was to the right. One step, two steps, careful, careful...

_Shit!!!_ I tripped on _something_, I don't know what, and next thing I was aware of, I was completely tangled in some shit that looked like spiderwebs but cut like razors. The slightest twitch and the strands dug into my skin—fuck, fuck, fuck!!! That hurt like a bitch! And...was I gonna be stuck here until my kidnapper showed up?!

Apparently not. Suddenly I was being dragged backwards along the floor—and oh God was that rough, because the wires bit down harder—and leaving a smear of red on the white carpet. Hah, so much for your expensive floor, fucker! Bloodstains are a bitch to get out!

Then I was thrown bodily into the room. I couldn't see who'd done it; I was too busy keeping my eyes scrunched shut and howling curses in extreme pain. There was a loud slam behind me, the click of a lock, and then the wires just slid off, disentangling into grayish loops on the floor. I didn't dare stand up. I didn't even open my eyes. I didn't want to see how much of my blood was staining the carpet. I didn't do anything but make some small, pathetic whimpering noises, laying limp.

* * *

**D**

I suppose it would have natural if I had worried about the shop, even if I had left it in my Grandfather's care. But the thought of all the animals I'd left behind—despite their pleas that I remain—never even crossed my mind.

There would be no rest for me for quite a while; I knew I would be travelling for days and nights on end to try and locate Leon and his captor. My lack of endurance would have been more of a hindrance had I not had the sense to bring Tet-chan along; in the stretches of wild, where no human would happen near, he could carry me when I could not adequately keep up the pace. Perhaps we should have cut our speed to look for more clues than we had, but I knew we would be just chasing will-o'-the-wisps. There were no hints. Towards anything.

The only thing I had to go by had been the gray mist which lingered in Leon's apartment. It was similar to the sleeping-mist which the pale-eyed beast had summoned to incapacitate the animals in my shop, but so much stronger it nearly made my eyes water to walk in the thick of it. No human being would ever notice anything; the small had long faded, and with it, the power to steal consciousness. All that remained was an ethereal, pearl-colored fog, visible only to my eyes. Not even Tet-chan could see what he was now following; a winding trail of gray that went through the sky. I could only assume the mist eminated from the beast's body, but thinly; the trail was growing steadily more faint, dissipating. I knew, of course, that the trail might end suddenly, might lead nowhere, but I had to hope that, if it did not take me to the beast itself, it would at least take me somewhere that I might find more clues as to what—and where—it was. And what it wanted with Leon.

I truly was amazed that Grandfather had let me go, really. I did not believe for a second that the ancient kami actually fell for my unconvincing story of hunting only for the sake of finding this strange animal. I did not believe that strangely considering look in his eyes had been my imagination. Why, then, had he not objected? Q-chan always made it his business to torment the Detective, making his dissapproval of the human's presence obvious. Perhaps Grandfather's curiousity about this mysterious beast overrode his natural reaction of attempting to keep me away from Leon? If that was the case, why had he not gone looking for the monster himself?

It seemed that no matter how fast we tried to go, we could not catch up with the fading trail. Within the hour, it would be gone, entirely, and I would have no leads. The creature had not followed a straight path; the trail wound and twisted oddly, as though it had known it would be followed. But then, if it went ahead and announced to me that it was taking Leon as its own, would it not expect me to follow, no matter its warnings against such a course of action? Of course. This beast...it did not seem a stupid creature.

Suddenly the wind gusted, and there was no trail. Whatever of it was vanished into thick clouds overhead that muttered darkly of rain. Tet-chan slowed to a stop, and I looked upwards. The sky grumbled again, and, ridiculously enough, I was sorely tempted to snap right back at it. Shaking my head at that near-moronic notion, I cast my eyes about as though in the hope of somehow seeing a sign pointing the way. Well, the only thing I could do was keep moving—towards the west—and hope the beast had not doubled-back and gone in an entirely different direction.

* * *

**Leon**

The hours crept past, interminable. I spent nearly all of them just laying on the floor, what with the fact that I was lightheaded and sick. I was surprised I wasn't dead from blood loss, really. My body was totally stiff, and I'd since gone numb. I imagine I wouldn't have noticed if some monster came and bit one of my hands off.

I was staring dazedly at the window, wondering how far down the drop was. My inspection before had given me an estimate of thirty feet. I did not think I could survive a drop of thirty feet. It was straight down the brickwork, no ledges, no nothing to catch on. Wouldn't be getting out _that_ way.

The sun was going lower, and the cloudless sky was a color I'd never seen the sky be before, what with spending most of my life in a big, smoggy city. It was nearing towards evening. That was when that Eilouran person was showing up. Nonsensical thoughts kept running through my head, trying to distract me from the fact that I was laying in a great big red patch and my whole body seemed to've been disconnected.

What the Hell did this guy—or girl, I guess, since the handwriting had given away nothing—think he was? The asshole kidnapped me and then expected to have a nice chat? The thought occured to me that I could just beat the shit outta this bastard the moment his ass showed up at the door. Then I'd march him down the hall so _he_ could walk into all the traps. Then it would be a—hopefully quick—trip to the nearest police station, and I would hook up with some transportation and go home and that would be that. Too bad I couldn't move.

The lock clicked, the door swung open, and the guy—definately a guy—walked in. He was a tall, willowy Native American-type guy, except his eyes clashed with his darkly copper skin and black air, a pale silver-white, tinged ever-so-slightly with yellowish, like a full moon. It made his eyes seem weird; they looked larger than they were, round and flashing in reflected sunlight. It made him look fucking _creepy_. His expression was a sort of vaguely pleasant smile, the kind you see on a businessman who just wants to get done with the conversation but not be rude. That smile faded into just plain blank when he saw me and my sorry state.

"Oh, you..." his voice was rough and rich, a leathery sound, almost. It sounded so strange; it was the kind of voice you'd expect to be chuckling over some story, not cold and perfectly emotionless, lacking in inflection of any kind. His utter lack of accent made him sound like he had a strong accent. "You tried to go outside. I should have warned you not to do that." No worry for the fact that I half-skinned. He was wearing a weird, long white coat—think lab coat, only it was made of something heavy that looked like a cross between velvet and leather—with a low collar, streaked unevenly with shades of blue and gray. Underneath that was a plain, black button-up shirt and gray slacks, the average outfit contradicting with his wannabee-Cinderella sandals. The damn things must've cost the moon! And he had weird feathers in his hair, and on his earings, which were weirdly silent for such gaudy jewelry. The feathers looked like they'd been coated in silver, or platinum, or maybe white gold.

I didn't give him any sort of answer. Mentally I was making a lunge for him and beating him down to the ground in a rage. Physically I was laying on the ground with a twisted grimace, not sure I actually could speak. He stepped forward, not making any noise, not even a slight ruffle of his coat or a soft footstep, and kneeled down beside me, reaching down and pushing my blood-matted hair back from where it'd fallen half across my face, and I flinched. The tips of his fingers were fucking _cold!_ He didn't seem to care, though, just staring at me as though considering what he should do about this situation. Finally, he picked me up—as though I didn't weigh a thing, even though he looked like he had almost no muscle on him anywhere—and layed me down on the bed.

"I do not think there will be any talking done tonight. You will have recovered by the morning. Do not attempt to leave this room again," and then he was gone, closing the door softly behind him, the lock clicking. I almost sobbed, but like Hell I was doing that. Even if I did feel like I'd been put through a wood chipper.

* * *

Endnotes:  
This fic is something of an experiance to write. It's amazing how much this chapter changed from being written on paper to being typed on the computer. Also amazing how the changes were all superficial enough that nothing of the story has changed.


	4. Chapter 4: Find You

**Ink on Porcelain**

* * *

Chapter 4:  
Find You  
_(No matter what I have to do.)_

* * *

Author's Notes:  
Wahoo! I'm actually getting a lot done on this thing. This makes for a happy Vix!

**Savage Damsel**, fwohoho! The whole aim of the mystery is to make one curious!  
**Redmage2**, actually, I had no computer troubles. The trouble was I wrote a few chapters, realized I'd screwed up in my plottingness and they sucked, and got rid of them so I could make them not suck. Bwahaha.

I'm not going to bother writing out replies to people who only say "keep writing" or "great." So if you want me to reply to you, you better've had something to say!

* * *

**Leon**

Night had slipped on, nearly without my noticing, despite the fact that all I seemed able to do was stare blankly at the ceiling and wonder at the fact that my body'd gone beyond numbness to the point where it just seemed to think it wasn't hurt. There was only a swift, faded-out twilight, giving way almost immediately to full dark. Outisde, a sliver of moon and more stars than I knew were up there casting a gray-silver light on the treetops.

I was more concerned with _getting_ out than _looking_ out, but since I was effectively paralyzed for the moment—though I strangely didn't feel like I couldn't move anymore, but I figured my poor brain was just playing tricks on me—there wasn't much I could do about that. Not that there was much I could do about it even if I was able to run around. I was _not_ giving the hallway another go, not after the agony of those spiderweb-wires, and there was no way I could scrape up thirty feet worth of fabric to make a makeshift rope. So I was stuck musing over whatever popped into my head. Not a fun thing to do.

What the Hell did that Eilouran guy intend to do with me? Ransom? Like Hell; he wouldn't get anything but all the cops in the state on his tail. I didn't have much family to speak of, and the Chief would be glad to have me out of his hair for a while.

Goddamnit, at least D had never _kidnapped_ me! Suddenly the old petshop looked like a fucking good alternative. D would never've left that Eel-creep alive; he'd've set one of his psycho-pets on him, and that would be the end of that.

Holy shit, here I was, needing to get away more than anything else in the world, and I was thinking about the fucking _petshop!!!_ Get a grip, Leon! There's no time for fucking tea and candy!

Eyes back on the window. He'd probably rigged more of that spiderweb shit outside to "catch" me in case I fell. Trying to imagine what I'd look like after falling into a net of those wires made me start to shudder violently. In the process, I, for the first time, dared to give my own—previously—mangled body a look.

My clothes were ruined. There was just about nothing left of them. I may as well've not been wearing anything at all. They were drenched with spilled blood, and I was amazed they were still clinging to me. But I myself was...a different story.

Stripes. Lots and lots of them. All the slices looked they were a few days old. What...the...fuck?!

* * *

**D**

I had no clues. No leads. Suddenly I thought, with some amount of bitter humor, that this must be something akin to the way Leon felt when dealing with shop-related cases; no idea of how to solve the mystery, save the nearly useless bit of information that, somehow, an animal was related to the incident. How ironic.

A strange sound, a low, rattling noise, caught my attention, and I whirled around from where I had been standing, simply staring up forlornly into the sky. Tet-chan's snarl died in his throat, and the Tou-tetsu fell back slightly, his eyes wary. I was standing face-to-face with a copper-skinned, pale-eyed man whose face was twisted in a dark, horrid glare. I did not let my surprise show, tilting my head and looking at him through half-lidded eyes, my own expression cold.

"Count D," he said simply, leather-voiced, tone as ominous as his sudden arrival. "I thought I advised you to leave well enough alone." I was silent for a long moment, opting to study him rather than to reply.

As far as my senses revealed to me, he was a human. Nothing presented itself to me to imply otherwise. But—I had seen—... No sense of what he truly was, none of the usual distortion created by a disguise. The only thing that told me he was the one who had caught Leon—besides the unmistakable, full-moon eyes—were the tendrils of gray fog which crept from the folds of his coat. Why could I not see his true form?

"Kami," his voice was coldly impatient, "go back to your domain, and search for me no longer. Leon is not worth the pains you are enduring to hunt for him. He will never accept you. You are not the one for the purpose." I arched a brow at that, needing not to speak my question aloud. He snorted, and Tet-chan renewed his faltered snarling, but reluctantly, almost...timidly. There was something very wrong about this mysterious man, even beyond the apparent lack of a true form. "Of course...you know nothing You are fueled only by fear and selfish desire; so like your kind to think only of themselves. I, on the other hand, use him to help the goal, the _purpose_, to be realized. You seek for him in vain, kami; he will never belong to you." And then, with a sound like a cloth sail unfolding in a sharp wind, he was—just for the barest moment he was—was that his...?

And he was gone, but yet again he'd left a trail of gray mist. No winding, this time; it was, indeed, a westward path.

Purpose? Goal? ...Belong...? What had I seen? Was it his true form? But...it was not... Or heard? Something...beyond me. I had no experiance with—was he some sort of...? No; a greater god than a kami would never take a human form. Ever. They were disgusted by the creatures far too thoroughly. But he was no kami—I would have recognized a kami instantly—and he was no beast. What, then, was he? Something...I...I did not know. The revelation, so simply put, was shocking. I did not know. I had come upon a being, spoken with it, seen what I thought must be its true form—even if I did not precisely see it—and I did not know what it was. The humans had a saying, "there's a first time for everything."

I could not allow myself to become too entangled. In my own confusion, in this...there was some force at work here, some greater movement than I was aware of. Puzzles I could not see, could not touch. But I knew one thing for certain. He could not be allowed to have Leon. Nothing good could come of it if the Detective was retained by this...thing.

_He will never belong to you._ The...the thing...the man, he had referred to Leon like a possession. A tool for a task. A precious one, yes, but still no more than that. I could not allow such a monster—for, animal or no, that man was a monster—to hold the Detective captive.

_Grandfather would skin me alive_, I thought wryly, _messing about in all sorts of dangerous business, all for the sake of a human._ But Grandfather had not yet come after me, had not yet appeared to punish me and bring me home again. There were no answers, anywhere. None at all.

* * *

**Leon**

I was more into sleep than wakefullness when I heard talking. It was really late; probably coming nearer to morning. The voices were outside the room, muffled through the door, but they—Eel-guy and some unknown woman—were arguing loudly, voices raised heatedly.

"This is not the way things are to be done, Eilouran!" the woman snapped, revealing my pronounciation had been kinda close to the mark—it was _Ee-lor-an_, not _Eel-o-ran_, hardly a difference—and I heard Eel-guy mutter something, then,

"The kami was following me, Neilfer. There is no doubt in my mind why he is looking for the **_Shie-Hyen_**. He plays that he is stupid, but I imagine it his Grandfather's doing—you know how possessive these creatures are of everything, especially their family, and D is very strict of whom he allows his grandchild to associate with. Even if he has told his grandson nothing, his allowance of the kami's search is—"

Then they were too far away to be heard, even when I dared get up—amazing, I had more stripes than a tabby cat, but it didn't hurt anymore, even though they were only freshly healed—and pressed my ear to the door. But then, I had enough to consider as it was.

_**Shie-Hyen**? What the fuck is a **Shie-Hyen**?_ I wondered. The word had shown up in my dreams, as well—what the Hell...

_Wrong,_ the voice from my dream almost seemed to comment. I jumped; since when had it been able to actually _reply?!_ Holy fucking shit, I was going out of my fucking skull! _But only three. Seven. Hold. How will we make this work? I guess it'll take a little...a little..._

I'd actually backed away from the door, against the wall, shuddering, trying to escape...everything. Why did all this shit have to happen to _me?!_ I supposed it was no wonder I was hearing voices now. I just wanted to keep up with my usual life, which had by now been fucking shattered all to pieces. Bust petty crooks, get drunk occasionally, visit D's sho—_No!_ That was_ not_ a part of my life! But God, I'd take one of D's fucking naggings over this shit any day. Hell, I'd let him chew me out every damn day, if it meant being away from this place. Fuck, I really _was_ losing my mind—why couldn't I just be left alone by all these fucktards with their weird-ass motives and fucking _creepy_ eyes?! Swear to God, nothing good ever came of messing with freaks with weird eyes. Fuck, fuck, fuck-all, and I had no idea what the Hell was going on, and I was actually starting to fucking miss Jill, and miss Count D—

Woah. No way did I miss Goddamn Count D. There was no way this could not be his fault—retribution for getting him royally pissed? Was this Eel-fucker another of his psychotic "pets"?!

...No. Eilouran'd said something about D and hand't sounded pleased. _The kami._ The fuck? What the Hell was a "kami"? Probably something to do with the fucking **_Shie-Hyen_**. Why couldn't all these freaks just speak _English_ consistently, instead of peppering it with all this _kami_ and **_Shie-Hyen_** shit?!

_So sorry, so sor—hold, seven, three, five—wait! I think—?_

"Go away," I said hoarsely, and there was, finally silence. Oh God, the dreams were not only talking _to_ me, but they were _listening_ to me now?! Hell...oh damn Hell...damn fucking Hell shit—!

I fell asleep cursing everything and anything that came to mind. Especially D and Eel-fucker.

* * *

_Click, clank, clink_. I opened on eye part of the way, discovering in the process that it was sometime after sunrise. How long after, I had no idea, but the other thing that caught my attention was Eel-fucker, fiddling around at the expensive table with his expensive dishes. Setting something out—apparently, he wasn't interested in letting me go hungry, even if he didn't care how much of my skin was removed. I just layed there silently, staring at him.

He turned around, as though he was aware I was watching him, and smiled that perfectly pleasant—in the way a lawyer is perfectly pleasant while agreeing how much money he's going to take from you—smile.

"I see you have recovered from the incident in the hallway. I am glad; it would not do for you to be unduly harmed so early into everything," it was odd, such a rough, rich voice speaking with such cold formality. Even fucking _D_ wasn't so bad about that. At least he responded with some sort of emotion, even if it was vague and hard to determine.

"Fuck you," I said simply, and Eel-fucker made a face. I seriously expected a "Language, Detective," only it wouldn't seem right if it wasn't damn ol' D saying it.

"Leon, your low opinion of me matters not," he sighed then. A sigh that sounded like he was trying to sound vaguely like he had human emotions and fell well short. "**_Dennderr mutchillak, Shie-Hyen Fenne, Iidas'tal_**." I stared blankly at him, and his expression became sad. Genuinely sad. For the first time. It actually made him not look creepy. "**_Endossco hyen._**" And he left the room, the door closing softly behind him, the lock clicking. I just layed there, staring at where he had been.

**_Tennillak muschille. Dossco..._** the dream-voice sounded mournful.

"Shut up," I snapped, and again, silence. Except for my own loudly racing thoughts, chewing over—what language was it? I knew it was gonna be a long day...

* * *

**D**

Ascending a mountain is not a pleasant business, but with Tet-chan's help, I was able to make fair time. The trail had since faded—it was now four in the afternoon—but I was confident in my westward path. With whatever of my mind was not fully focused on climbing, I mulled over all the mysteries that had been flung in my direction. Leon—purpose—beast—possession—selfish—fear... A long list of things.

_He will never belong to you.  
__He will never accept you.  
__He does not wish for your attentions, kami.  
__He is not worth the pains you are enduring._

He certainly was quite adamant in his trying to keep me from following. Trying to dishearten me, to feel that Leon was, indeed, not worth what I was putting into this search. He wanted me to be angry or upset, it seemed to me; obviously, in the hope that I would become disgusted with my own task and would cease. My expression was determined, as I reached yet another false pinnacle, revealing that above it the mountain climbed steadily higher.

Tet-chan snarled suddenly, bounding upwards, eyes enraged. I blinked, looking up, curious as to what the Tou-tetsu was having a fit over, and saw a woman. The resemblance to the man who'd captured Leon was undeniable; the same deep copper skin, long black hair, a coat of similar make, save it was black and red, and golden feathers hanging from her hair and earrings. The biggest difference, besides gender, was that her eyes were a dark brown. She was standing calmly, head tilted slightly to one side, watching Tet-chan advance upon her. I noted, also, that there was no mist on the woman at all.

"Kami," she addressed me simply, "I think you a fool for still perservering in your chase after my brother's threats. But a noble fool." I blinked at that, but remained silent, my expression coolly determined. She waited to see if I would comment, and when I did not, she continued. "And a noble fool is far preferable to my brother, for he is merely a fool. Do not think that I betray my kin," and here her eyes flashed, warning me that to make such an accusation would not be wise at all, "but you must understand. He is confused, has not bothered to fully comprehend the situation. He does not know what he is doing, though he believes that he does. I do not want him to ruin anything in his haste, and that is the only reason I have not yet bothered to kill you. Unlike Eilouran, I do not fear the retribution of your kin." I still retained my silence, waiting for her to explain exactly what she was getting at, calm. Collected. I was not the least bit anxious. No, I was not. "You are of D's lineage, so you would know nothing. This is outside your realm of experiance. Just do as I say, and do not worry about anything else, or things will not turn out favorably for you. You must kill Eilouran and retrieve Leon." My eyes widened just the barest amount at that. First she claimed she did not betray her kin, then she told me to kill him? How...interesting. "Understand that I do not desire my brother's death. However, he has become too dangerous, and to strike out against him myself would be foolhardy in the current situation. Leon—you must reclaim him, and Eilouran will not allow it as long as he breathes. Believe me, kami, when I say that even if you seperated my brother into a dozen pieces, if he still had some amount of life in him, he would find a way to do you harm. It is his...specialty." She seemed somewhat disdainful of that.

"What is your name?" I asked simply. Tet-chan had since stopped his snarling, but he was still distrustful. She looked at me piercingly. This woman was not at all like her brother, I now saw; she was fierce, with a deep-set inner fire of passion.

"Neilfer. What is yours? The humans call you Count D, but that is merely the inherited title of your lineage," she said musingly, eyes narrowed. I stayed silent for a long moment, until finally Tet-chan snarled something under his breath.

"I will tell you, perhaps," I said quietly, "when I understand what you are, and what is happening." She snorted, shaking her head.

"Then I will simply refer to you as kami," she replied, "because while you may comprehend what I am, possibly, you will never be able to grasp the purpose. Now, I have told you almost nothing that you did not already know—I am certain you already intended to fight with Eilouran. He is right when he says you kamis are possessive creatures." I suppose my expression soured slightly at that, as she made a dismissive gesture. "It does not matter to me if you are or not. What matters is this: You are not moving nearly fast enough to find Leon in time, before Eilouran has gone too far to be stopped. As such..." she spread her hands in an odd motion, and there was a sudden gust of ice-cold wind, so bitter it stung my eyes and made me flinch away. "...I will be bringing you to the place you will find him. He will be difficult to engage directly unless you find Leon first, so I advise you take pains to avoid Eilouran until you have reached Leon. It will not be very enjoyable." She smiled bitterly. "Eilouran is very skilled at laying traps, as your Detective has already learned when he tried to escape." Something within me lurched at that, and I immediately looked straight up at her. The intensity in my eyes seemed to amuse her. "Do not worry. Eilouran will not allow him to come to any true harm...he will simply have a few more scars than he used to. Now, do not question what you see."

The sense of her command was revealed when she changed. To her true form. But it was something—it was such a confusing form. It was...broad wings of what looked like some sort of purple-blue stone, roughly textured, like a grand statue in a cemetary. But flowing, like cloth whipping in the wind, all ripples and folds. Lost somewhere amongst those wings was a being made of...animated wind. The notion struck me suddenly. The wings, as well; it was all wind. A being of wind.

She resembled—in whatever way wind can resemble anything, even visible as it was—something like an ancient Mayan carving of a wolf. If I had to say what I thought visible wind would look like, I would never have said that it looked like flowing stone.

"_Kami_," she addressed, and remarkably, her voice was utterly unchanged, "_you may wish to close your eyes, or this may be unsettling._" Then she had taken flight and, in a sweeping movement, lifted Tet-chan and I from the ground. I could see what she meant by unsettling—I was wrapped in what looked like folds of stone cloth, but I could feel nothing but strong wind whipping about, wind that did not displace my hair or flap through my clothing, but rather was simply surrounding without quite touching.

And then we were moving too quickly for me to worry about anything at all. I should have expected an incarnation of wind to move swiftly, but I was caught completely by surprise when there was nothing about me but a lightless blur.

And then I was enveloped by nothing at all, dropped ungracefully on the ground, and it had barely been ten minutes. Tet-chan staggered, and I myself felt none too steady, but Neilfer—once again appearing as a human—was already urging us to motion.

"Leon is being kept up there," she said, pointing upwards along the side of a towering brick building which, strangely, I had simply not noticed. I managed not to start at the sight of it suddenly looming beside me, but the wind-creature noticed anyway. "As I said, Eilouran is skilled with traps. Would it not make sense for one who is skilled with them to know how to conceal things? A trap is not much use if it is not concealed." I gave her a flat look, irritated with her, but she merely chuckled darkly at me, and I tilted my head, putting on my coolest expression. "There is no time for that, kami. Go now. I will keep Eilouran distracted as long as I can, but he will notice your presence sooner or later, and then he will be very angry with me and I shall have to flee." A slight snort of disdain. "I am the younger of us, and so, if Eilouran wishes, he may call superiority upon me." The sidelong glance showed she did not expect me to understand the significance of that. "If he does this, I will be at his disposal until he chooses to release me, so it will be much safer for you and Leon if I am far away." I nodded slightly, accepting this, and then I began to look about. It was tempting to simply try to get into the building from the window which Neilfer had indicated, but her talk of traps had clearly implied that that would be a foolish effort. The wind-woman walked ahead of me, and opened the front door which I had not seen, giving me an amused half-smile. I followed her in, and then she was gone, heading swiftly up the hallways, to find Eilouran. I was on my own to navigate this place, and locate the Detective.

* * *

Endnotes:  
Heeeeeey. Wind-things. I dunno if I managed to get a good conveyance of what Neilfer looks like across. I tried.


	5. Chapter 5: Rescue You

**Ink on Porcelain**

* * *

Chapter 5:  
Rescue You  
_(Though I may walk into the jaws of Hell to do it.)_

* * *

Author's Notes:  
::Evil laughter:: I love writing this thing.

**Feather Qwill**, the first thing that popped into my head when you said "I'm loving it" was that demonic McDonald's commercial-themesong. I hate McDonald's. And their retarded commercials. But I don't hate you. _You are lucky._ No, I'm just being stupid. I think I forgot the point of this...wait, no, I just didn't have a point. Gwah.  
**Ice Dragon3**, your suggestions are _not_ useless, they're greatly appreciated! No, I was not planning on putting translations at the end of the chapter. When a character speaks a foreign language that the current narrator understands, I just write it in English, but in italics. And I'm glad you liked the sound I managed for the invented language; it's taken me...what...over four years to achieve it? I've been working on that language for a _long_ time. I use it in a great number of stories which I write.  
Yes, the wind-incarnations do indeed have a close family—sort of. It'll be explained more, don't you worry.  
As for the errors in Chapter 3...the weird thing is, I _know_ I had fixed some of them, but I think I forgot to save after fixing them! I'm stupid sometimes :D

* * *

**Leon**

I guess it was the most childish way to get revenge on somebody. I guess, just like the Count, Eel-fucker would be fully capable of just ignoring property damage. But damn, was it satisfying to chuck that fancy-ass table straight out the window and watch it plummet and, finally, smash to bits on the ground far below.

Then it wasn't long before I heard Eilouran outside. Neilfer, too. And boy, were they having a row. I kept expecting to hear howls of pain any second.

I might've even picked up some more weird news of the outside world—like whether or not D was still causing trouble—except none of the argument was in English. I heard the world "**_hyen_**" more than once, but that told me...not a damn thing, seeing as it was the only word I recognized, and I didn't even know what it _meant_...

_**Hyen**—either noun or verb. Noun—voice or speech. Verb—to speak, to give voice. Usually in a formal sense,_ the dream-voice muttered.

"Holy fucking shit!" I seemed to be stringing curses together alot lately. "My God, you can actually be of some use?!" No response. Damn. What good was being psycho if the voices in your head wouldn't answer any damn _questions_?! Okay, that just sounded not only crazy, but totally retarded as well. I really needed to just stop thinking. Or something.

Back to the window again. The table hadn't been caught by any of those wires as it fell. Said table had _also_ not survived contact with the ground. Hm. Was I crazy enough to think suicide was better than hanging around with Eel-fucker? Nah. I kinda liked being alive, even if my life sucked at the moment. Maybe if I got lucky, Eilouran and Neilfer would kill each other. They were still screaming out there. I kinda wondered what they were fighting about. Moreso, I wondered if I would even be able to tell if they _did_ start really going at it and tear each other into pieces. And I wondered who the Hell Neilfer was. And Eel-fucker. And why he sounded so animated and enraged out there when all I could see in him was a businessman like chill. I guess Neilfer just knew how to push his buttons.

I realized my gaze had drifted, and instead of staring out the window, I was just kinda scrutinizing the wall. Blinking in surprise, I also realized that Eil and Neil had gone suddenly quiet. But it was the kind of silence that's way more dangerous than shouting, like a sudden deadlock in a fight that can only end with one or the other dropping dead. Then the silence was broken, and I listened very closely, pressed against the door.

"Don't think I am stupid, Neilfer. Despite what you told the kami, I am no fool." There was that kami shit again. What the Hell was this "kami" thing? No answer from the dream voice. Damn thing.

"So your trust in me failed, did it, Eilouran?" was the heated reply, counterpointing Eil's cool tone. "I am not surprised. A creature of traps and deceptions such as you knows no such thing as trust, even for your own kin." Kin, eh? Well, that explained the bitter fueding. Fights between relatives were always the worst.

"Ah, but you, dear sister, are the one who betrayed me. I was merely taking precautions—if you were suddenly attacked, I wanted to know, and the easiest way was to spy on your actions. _You_ are the one who went to that creature and begged him for help. You are the one whose trust faltered. You even brought him back here; I know D is in this place somewhere. Not that I am concerned; not even a being such as a kami can frighten me away from the purpose."

Woah woah woah. Wait a sec here. This kami thing—it was D? Great. Just great. Now if only I knew what the Hell a kami was.

Then another fact made its impression. D was here. D was here and he was going to kill Eel-fucker. I couldn't decide whether to be utterly creeped out by the fact that D had actually come _looking_ for me or whether to jump for joy because of it. God, would it be great to get a chance to—

Hold. It. The last time I'd seen D, I'd been storming out the door after being majorly pissed off. What the Hell was wrong with me? All the fucker had to offer was lies and killer pets...kami, huh. I wondered what _that_ was...D would sure as Hell never tell me...But then...

I didn't know what was up with all the disjointed thoguhts, but I didn't like it. Maybe I should just be glad I was getting out of here—no way Eil could stop D from doing what he wanted—and stop there. That sounded like a good plan.

* * *

**D**

The inside of the building was a maze. And a dangerous one, at that. I had to watch very carefully for the slight, shining strips of webbing that laced the floor, the walls, the ceiling. There was no way to get past any of them; I had to carefully cut each individual strand at its trigger point, setting it off without being caught. And the wires were not the only trap. They were wound with illusions that were designed to startle one straight into a thick patch of them, though most of them I saw through without faltering. I didn't bother with any of the doors just yet; Leon was on the topmost floor, and I doubt the stairs—or whatever Eilouran may have used to get from one level to the next—were concealed by something so simple as a door. I imagine if I had tried some there would have been unpleasant results. Tet-chan nearly clung to my back, glancing about, growling lowly, but unable to do anything about the majority of the traps.

When I finally found the way up, my eyes widened at what I would be going through. The method of ascension was a slick marble pillar going all the way to the top floor. Or at least it seemed to. The wires around this were not at all hidden. They were livid red, sparsely placed. That alone told me that something very, very bad would happen to anyone who attempted to climb the pillar. But what choice did I have? I had to find Leon. Behind me, Tet-chan was snarling; he, too, realized the pillar to be much worse than it seemed at a glance.

I put my hand against the smooth surface. No reaction yet; it would wait until I was off the ground. Climbing it would not be easy—it was too large to get my arms fully around, and the surface was very slick. Doing my best to dig my nails into the stone—it resisted unnaturally well—I pulled myself up. Tet-chan followed behind, and, with agonizing slowness, I was begging to make my way upwards.

Then the first trap of the pillar was sprung. One of the bright red wires snapped in half of its own occord, and set off a trembling I thought might shake me right off.

That was a second before the dragon rushed into existance, a ribbon of arching fire that wound its flickering, half-scaled length around the entire pillar, barely thicker than a thread. I assumed such a thing must be an illusion, until it snapped, and I just barely snatched my hand away. A tiny beast the summoned dragon may have been, but also ferocious, baring its teeth and hissing like water poured on a hot iron. And it swept its body around in a writhing, wriggling pattern, snapping the other wires. More dragons—a fiery ribbon for every crimson strand broken, all of them snapping their jaws, hissing and spitting.

There would be no hoping to reason the beasts away as I could any natural animal. These things were nothing but miniscule, elongated bundles of viciousness, no mind to speak of inside their bright red skulls. I drew away slightly, and then Tet-chan lunged, springing himself over my head and catching the pillar above me. The dragons became a screeching, deadly net, winding their slender bodies, snapping their tiny jaws, leaving wicked burns all across the Tou-tetsu's hide. Tet-chan ripped three off and sent them tumbling to the floor, wherupon they simply sputtered out like a candle flame, leaving thin lines of ash in their wake. I was moving upward past the lot as quickly as I could, even as Tet-chan threw off the last of the miniature fire serpents. Not so dangerous, then, but that was not the last of them—and there were still more traps to be had. Suddenly the column heaved and writhed like a living thing, twisting, bending, attempting to throw us off, jerking, stretching, and I clung tightly, eyes shut tight, able to do nothing but hold on. Then it had stopped, leaving me dazed, and I barely avoided losing a finger to another wave of hissing dragons which Tet-chan made short work of.

And then the gray wires fell suddenly from overhead, and there was no avoiding them. The strands cut deep; I could hear Tet-chan bellowing in pain, but I daren't open my eyes. Clawing them off proved exceedingly difficult—and painful—as they were wrapped about the column, nearly tieing me to the marble surface, and they were strong wires. But I shoved the agony, the blood, away, concentrated on snapping the weblike strands, one by one—by the time I'd freed myself of them, my clothes, unsurprisingly, were a total ruin, and the pillar was made even more slippery than before with blood. I was lightheaded, dizzy, sliding, struggling, clawing, but I made my way, with horrid slowness, upwards, and if there were more traps, I went straight through them without registerring any of them. I had lost far too much blood; there was no way I...

But pressing on was the only option. Leon—I had to find him, retrieve him, get _away_ from this wretched place. Eilouran was far from my fogged mind.

That was, of course, why I practically fell on him when I finally reached the top floor, more dropping than jumping from the pillar. Tet-chan, despite how battered he was, lunged immediately, but Eilouran ghosted out of the way, and the Tou-tetsu simply skidded across the floor, leaving a dark smear behind him. Eilouran laughed, and then was racing—vanishing up the hall—he would take Loen and run...!

I staggered upright, trying to give chase, but suddenly my feet were swept out from under me, and I was being nearly thrown down the hallway, carried by a swift form of flowing stone.

"Eilouran—is doing—he is wrong," Neilfer's voice was thin and strained. She must have attacked her brother and been injured...but she was not done fighting. "The traps—the traps will not touch you—I will do what I can—I am no healer—" A jagged, burning pain, sharp, sudden, and gone again, leaving me dazed. But the bleeding had stopped, the gouges in my—and Tet-chan's, I noted—body were healed somewhat. The pain of them was mostly gone, though the lightheadedness remained.

"Neilfer—" I tried to thank her, but she cut me off with a hoarse, bitter laugh.

"No, do not thank me—I have accomplished nothing but that you will bleed no longer." Then Eilouran was there—Neilfer collided with him, dropping me in the process, and suddenly Eilouran, also, was in the form of visible wind. But this was no wolf, no proud, swift-footed beast; this was a serpent and a falcon, the line between the two animals blurring indistinctly, almost in the style of a quetzalcoatl but not truly. Tangling together, the two siblings became indistinguishable from one another, all flowing statues, stone cloth. I could not worry about it—I had to get to Leon.

I was trying every door I could, while dodging quickly to avoid flailing wind and wings, until I came to one which was locked—the only locked door I had encountered thus far. The trail of dried blood leading under it told me for certain this would be where Leon was.

The door was not locked a second later, when Tet-chan charged straight through it—and pinned Leon to the ground beneath it. Perhaps I should have given warning for him not to stay near the door. The Tou-tetsu moved only when I shoved him roughly away, and, throwing the shattered door aside, Leon pushed himself up slowly. He was ragged and bemused, and staring. I suppose because of the state I was in—

"You ran into that spiderweb shit too?" Yes, of course. That _would_ be the first thing out of the Detective's mouth. I suppressed a sigh, though whether it would have been exhasperated or relieved, I did not know.

"Come, Detective," I said quickly, "we do not have any time." The window was already broken open—of course, Leon was the type to break things—so, without another word, I took hold of the human, simply scooping him up into my arms.

"Woah D—!" he began, but I cut off his surprised shout quickly.

"There is no time!" and then I had run and leapt, but I was caught, unreal falcon talons snatching at me, throwing me backwards across the room, clear into the hallway, to connect heavily with the wall. Leon was wrenched away, Tet-chan was smashed against the door frame by Eilouran's—was that a tail or a wing?—and then the wind-creature had vanished. I bit back a desperate wail; hysterics now would not accomplish a thing.

Neilfer. She'd struggled up behind me, spilling a dark silver-tinged blue substance, though the uncertainness of her form made it impossible for me to tell where she was injured.

"Eilouran—will—kill—Leon," she hissed, snatching me up in a weak grip, almost forgetting Tet-chan in her urgency to chase after her brother. "He has...g-gone mad...!"

I did not doubt. We were following, then—jerkily, more slowly than Neilfer had flown before, and several times it seemed like she might simply drop from the sky. But our destination came into sight, suddenly—the tower went so high up I could not see the top of it, but just ten feet before I had seen nothing. Illusions to protect this place. It was a tower of black stone, with a winding staircase going around, up and up without visible end. Neilfer hit the side of the tower, skidding along the surface before catching her outstretched wing on the stairs, off-kilter, rolling down several stairs before coming to a stop. I struggled out of the folds of her wings, knowing she would not rise again. She gasped thinly, whispering,

"Eil...ou...ran...is...no...long...er...my...kin..."

I nodded silently, acknowledging her disownment of her brother. And thus she stilled, and I was climbing up, hunting the other wind-beast, the serpent-falcon.

This place, I knew, had never before seen a human's presence. Or a kami's, for that matter—this place...it was a horrible place. Something terrible had occured here. What? I did not know. Something...so very wrong. Beyond the point of mere atrocity.

Tet-chan was bounding ahead, and as soon as he had rounded out of sight along the twisting stairs, I heard a hideous, screeching cry—Eilouran was not so far ahead as I would have expected, then.

Then I was within sight of them, and it was obvious that the Tou-tetsu was outmatched. Within moments he was thrown down the steep stairs, landing awkwardly, consciousness already robbed from him. I could not stop—Eilouran held Leon it one fluttering talon, claws cutting slowly, inexhorably, into flesh. I sprang at the wind-beast, wishing sorely that I was a more skilled fighter than I was.

The wind-monster swung about, in the process throwing the Detective up ahead, up the stairs. The crack that resounded made my heart lurch, but the human was alive—and he was trying to get up, despite a now-broken shoulder.

Then I was lost to all but the immediate struggle, keeping one step ahead of Eilouran's sweeping strikes. Why did he not take flight? In the air, it would be impossible to...

The wind. There was no wind. None at all. Whatever sealed this tower away must halt the air flow as well, and Eilouran could not urge the air into motion, could not gain purchase in the air to fly with. He was grounded, and heavy, and more sluggish than he should have been, more ungainly. He was out of his element. That told me plainly what I was to do. I had to get him off the edge, unbalance him, make him plummet—the fall would surely kill him.

Tet-chan, snarling, bruised and bleeding but stubborn, was suddenly attempting to go for Eilouran's throat—or, at least, what appeared to be his throat—once more. The wind incarnation staggered back, claws slipping off the edge of the staircase, skittering, sliding backwards, teetering precariously, his delicate balance compromised, the weight of his own wings dragging him down as though he truly were made of stone.

The final push came from an unexpected source. An enraged shout, a loud, painful sounding _thud_-_crunch_, and Eilouran toppled. Leon nearly fell with him after shoving him off, but I caught the blonde officer, tugged him away from the edge. Below, beyond sight, there was a resounding crash. Eilouran's body must have made contact with the ground very heavily.

Then the darling Detective passed out in my arms, slumping heavily against me.

"My dear Detective," I murmured quietly, "you are always full of surprises."

* * *

Endnotes:  
Things aren't anywhere _near_ being resolved. Bwahahaha.


	6. Chapter 6: Where We Begin

**Ink on Porcelain**

* * *

Chapter 6:  
Where We Begin

* * *

Author's Notes:  
First, I'm sure you notice that the chapter no longer is titled in the same way as the past five. That's 'cuz naming chapters that way is annoying, and besides that, the story sorta changes from here on out, going into "act two" if you will.

Wahoo, the chapter I'm sure you've all been wait-ting forrrr! Or maybe not. Maybe you're waiting for when things get _really freaky_, in which case...heehee. So yes, anyway, beware, this chapter marks the start of the chapters that contain sex.

Also, writing from the POV of someone who's totally out of it and disoriented is more fun.

**Cyhirae**, wah! Never before have one of my stories been called a gem! ::Becomes all giddy.:: And, in fact, my comments on D's density were actually slight less relevent; in the "original" version, before I actually figured out what the heck I was doing with this story, Eilouran and Neilfer were both quetzalcoatl/dragon hybrids. Obviously, D's experianced enough to recognize a quetzalcoatl, since he noted that Eilouran looked sort of like one. In the "original" version, D seemed kinda dumb because he didn't know. I fixed it in the re-write, when I actually had an extended plot in mind.  
**Cody Thomas**, kami-ly possible? Kekeke. But I'm not a kami! I'm a kitsune/dragon! That would be an odd race. Who's faster, Vix or D? I bet D would insist he is faster.  
D: Of course.  
Vix: Shu'up, stupid Chinese whacko. Anyway, yeah, good PSoH fics are harder to find, but they _are_ out there! Don't give up!  
**Tysoyo Kalli**, glad you think I'm managing to keep the Count in-character. I worried about it before I started the fic, but once I started writing, I just kinda went along and hoped I had gotten him down right in my head, because by then he'd made himself a permanent fixture in mah brain just the way he is in this fic, and it'd be near impossible to change him...

* * *

**Leon**

Foggy headed, felt like I should probably be in pain but I wasn't. What the Hell'd happened...? Nah...didn't really care about that just yet...leave it for some other time...

I was in a hospital bed. Whoopee. I woke up in the things so often I didn't even bother wondering about it. No special.

Where was D? More importantly, why the Hell was I thinking about D now? Couldn't quite get a grasp on what was going on. Um, wait. Somebody was here. D...?

No, Jill. It was Jill. Yeah. Worried look—no surprise there. She was always worrying about me. Hum. I wondered how badly hurt I was this time.

"Hey," I said, voice quiet—hadn't intended it to be quiet, but it came out that way. She snorted, shaking her head. Hiding her expression.

"You idiot," she mumbled. I cut off whatever else she wanted to say, an urgent—though I had no idea _why_ it was urgent—question voicing itself against my will. Couldn't quite stop it from coming out, y'know how it goes...

"Where's D?" my voice was a bare whisper, but it made Jill pause and glance away. T'wards a corner of the room. Um. Then, quietly,

"He's over there. Fell asleep. He's been here the entire time. Poor guy's a mess, but he wouldn't let anybody near him. He was really worried about you and refused to leave."

I was utterly silent. He...D was...worried about me? Been there the entire time? What...?

Then I recalled, to a certain extent, what'd happened. Freaky inhuman things. **_Hyen_**. Kami. D. D had rescued me. Eel-fucker—God—what the Hell...?!

I supposed it was only to be expected. Dragons, man-eating rabits, basilisks. Why not things that looked like they were living statues? Or something. I dunno. Hard to place. Even harder to describe. Too much of this and my skull would just crack and spill all over... Why not D be some...some...fucking kami-thing, whatever the Hell that was? Why not voices in my head? Hell, why not the petshop creeping into my fucking traitorous brain every inopportune moment?! Why—

Calm down. Okay. So now D had saved me from uncertain death. And I had kept thinking of him. Okay. And regretting blowing up at him. Okay, good so far. So it really wasn't all _that_ new, the thinking of him part. Yup. I was a stubborn ass, though, so I'd been ignoring it—and shoving it around and out of the way—and I knew I could not be thinking clearly. The whole idea seemed stupid. Painkillers were screwing up my head. Definately. I wanted to see D. Just knowing he was in the room wasn't enough. He'd been torn up. I just...I just wanted to know if he was okay. It was stupid. I didn't give a fuck. "Jill, would you...?" I trailed off, realizing too late that I would never live down the mockery if I asked if she would wake D up just so I could see him. All those sons of bitches back in the department woud have a fucking field day. Jump to conclusions. Conclusions I think my brain was trying to make me jump to as well. If I'd been talking to somebody else in my shoes, I'd've been laughing my ass off at the poor bastard. Why would they do any different? Damn it all. I wanted to see D. Fuck them.

But Jill didn't laugh. She didn't even have to ask what the rest of my question was. She just looked at me very seriously, then I couldn't see her when she went into the corner of the room. I didn't quite think to turn my head, just staring blankly at the ceiling. Hum. What had I been doing? Wanted to see D. Right. Keep it together, Leon. You've been through this funk enough times before. Don't go to pieces. Even if it might be a little relieving to just get to fall apart now and again. Just break down, give up, surrender. What the Hell was I fighting, anyway?

Then D was standing over me, just looking at me. I just looked at him right back. Damn, the guy looked terrible—he was still wearing that shredded outfit, but somebody had given him a robe or something that he had tugged around his shoulders. His hair was a mess, blood-matted, windblown. His eyes were utterly weary. His pale skin was bruised and striped, streaked here and there with dried blood.

"You look like shit, D. You should go home." That brought a smirk to his lips, and God, that was the most reassuring thing I'd ever seen. D was still D. Still an arrogant bastard, even when he was totally wrecked and just about ready to fall over from exhaustion. Jill had left the room. I'd forgotten she existed.

"Your concern is...appreciated, Detective," he said at last. His voice was as tired and worn as his appearance, but still that D-voice, secretive, slightly mocking. Damn, he could be laying on his deathbed and he would still laugh at you, I'd bet. The thought was unpleasant—not the laughing part. Shit, I'd creeped myself out. You're falling apart, Leon...did I wanna stop...?

"I must look pretty bad too," I chuckled thinly. Make an attempt to keep the situation from getting too heavy. D just looked at me, didn't respond. Damn, he wasn't cooperating. Didn't he realize? Painkillers clouded my thinking, made me get confused and nervous of myself, rebellious thoughts surfaced easy, I couldn't remember what, exactly, I'd been refusing so vehemently, and I was still really unsettled over everything that had happened. The only stable thing was D, God-fucking-damn D, and his smirk and his eyes and—hold off, hold off. Catch a few pieces, put them back in place. What the Hell are they of, anyway? What the fuck am I trying to salvage? I turned to my only refuge; questions. Tread lightly, Leon. "Look, D...I know you won't tell me shit about what happened, but I can try. What the Hell is a...kami-thing?" Two-toned eyes widened the slightest amount. Ah-hah! Caughtcha by surprise there, bastard. I grinned smugly at him, unable to stop myself. Hooray for the small victories. He gave me an exhasperated look, somehow, someway, despite all his dishevelment.

"You would not quite understand, Detective," he said simply. I growled at him, and he blinked at how absolutely ferocious I came out as sounding.

"Listen up, Count. It's taking me a whole lotta effort to think straight, and I've just been through Hell, and I have no idea what the fuck is going on anymore. The least you could do is humor me a little. If I don't understand, then what difference does it make?" He just stared at me, and I was losing it again, thoughts drifting. Pieces lost, oops. I didn't think I could find them again. I didn't really care, since I didn't know what they were supposed to make anyway. It'd come apart completely. Damn, I couldn't break eye contact—oh Hell. I was gonna do something stupid—freak D out, see if it's possible—was falling apart, breakdown, too many painkillers...

I think D noticed something was up, but he didn't move away. Inevitable, I guess, that this would happen. I grabbed his wrist, fixing him with as steady a glare as I could manage when my eyes kept unfocusing, voice a hiss. "D, I think we've fucked around enough." Then I went ahead and watched all reason drift away, and dragged D down practically on top of me. I only had one arm to use, so I just kept him there with that one. Waiting.

Stupid? Undeniably. Risky? No doubt. Good? Hell yes. Shut the _fuck_ up about it. If I wanted to screw myself up this badly, fall for some fucking son of a bitch like D, then it was _my_ fucking choice, damnit! All those assholes at work could just go to Hell!

D was very, very still, rigid—with shock, I guess—but I didn't care. Was to be expected. After all, I hadn't given much warning. Maybe he thought I had no idea what I was doing. True, I had no idea what the Hell was wrong with my head, but I did know that this was no new idea. Those pieces of whatever that I'd let fall apart. Barriers, walls, whatever. Denial. Suppression. Oops. Lost it all, left only with the truth, you know. Inevitable, I guess. I just hung on, didn't let go. Waited.

"Detective..." D was trying a cool, reasoning voice. I was neither cool nor reasonable. Sucks to be him.

"No," I hissed, gripping tighter. "Leon." He didn't reply, didn't say a thing, but neither did he try to get away. And he wouldn't look at me. "Don't pretend, D. You're a fucking good liar, but I'm a fucking better lie-detector. I know. Not a lot, but I know a little. Enough. You're faking if you say you don't like it. You asshole."

"Detective..." his voice could only be described as tentative. Uncertain. Maybe nervous. But not angry. That was a good sign. "...I thought you could not stand me. You certainly indicated it at ever opportunity."

"Damn you," I muttered, "I thought you were s'posed to know everything. You just drive me fucking crazy in as many ways as possible. You piss me off for fun, you never tell me anything, you're the most arrogant, smug bastard I've ever met. And I can't stop thinking about you. You and all the fucking ways you just drive me right up the wall and I kept fucking coming back to your shop, didn't I? I always said I wouldn't. Then I did. I even bought you stuff. You stupid bastard, you should've realized it before I did—I only figured it out...Hell, a few minutes ago. I'm crazy _about_ you, D. You and all your fucking headgames and your tricks and your lies and your fucking—"

"Language, Leon."

Woah. That shut me up instantly. Rewind here—language _what?_ Well I'll be damned. Score a point for the home team, the bastard actually called me by _name_. I grinned, triumphant...and then the door opened up, and Jill walked in, followed by some doctor-nurse-whatever person. I can just imagine what the scene would've looked like. The both of us kinda ruined, D held tight against me, me with fucking tears running down my face—I hadn't been able to stop them—and D staring at me with the weirdest expression, like he'd had a revelation or something. I felt my face heating up tremendously, and it took me a few tries to get any words out.

"Uh...hi?"

* * *

**D**

Time seemed to be passing by unbearably slow, something which I was not at all used to. But then, I was not at all used to sitting in the waiting room of a hospital, hands folded in my lap, waiting for Leon. He had, typical of himself, pushed for an early release and I, for once, thought it preferrable. He would not be going back to his old apartment; I had already removed the few things he owned from the place, minus all his vulgar "decorations" which he no longer wanted to keep anyway. When I'd finally gone back to my shop, Grandfather was nowhere to be found. I was both relieved and perturbed by his absence. Relieved in that I would not have to face him about Leon; perturbed in that it was unlike him to simply vanish without a word. I assumed something important must've come to his attention, and proceeded to make things ready for when Leon would be released from the hospital.

I was still caught in a slight daze over how suddenl all of this was. But then, was it not like Leon to simply jump into things without testing the water first? Nothing else, I supposed, would have been quite fitting for the brash, headstrong Detective.

I was conveniently ignoring some of the issues present in this arrangement. Such as the fact that I would eventually have to tell Leon some things. Like what a kami was. I supposed it might be amusing to see his reaction when he learned I was a god.

Grandfather would be terribly angry when he returned. He might even try to do something rash, and I worried greatly that he might refuse to speak to me because of my choice. But I knew that I could not turn away from Leon now, not after all I had endured to bring him back.

And there he was, arm in a sling, still arguing with one of the doctors even as he made his way into the room. I stood slowly, offered the medical staff a slight smile, and assured the woman that I would, indeed, keep a close eye on Leon. The blonde Detective offered me a glare, but I only titled my head as though to say I had no idea what had angered him. Muttering, he followed me out, to where I had my usual limo waiting, the driver waiting to open the door for us. As usual, Leon shook his head slightly at the sight of it.

Once inside, Leon sighed heavily, like he'd been holding his breath. And then he nearly crushed me against him in a strong embrace, mumbling something into my hair that I could not understand. I allowed myself to relax against him, slight smile still in place, and once he seemed certain I was not about to try and edge away, he loosened his hold, running his hand slowly down my back.

"You certainly are spontaneous," I murmured, amused. He just chuckled at me.

"Nah. I just go for somethin' once I've made up my mind to go for it," his statement was muffled, seeing as he had his lips pressed against my forehead. At that moment, whatever doubts I may still have held about the situation were gone.

* * *

**Leon**

I was actually pretty proud of myself. I'd survived Eel-fucker, gotten out of the damn hospital, and now D was laying against me, a lazy sort of smile on his face. I was much happier being here and gay than being in a bed, alone, and straight. And fuck anybody who laughed at that.

Of course I wasn't..._gay_, y'know. Bi, whatever. It didn't matter. D was...unique. So that made anythign involving him unique. I mean, one guy out of all those girls hardly counts, right? ...meh.

Well, now I had the Count's slim little body curled up next to mine, what came next? It was nice, just staying like this, but I couldn't help but feel something more was needed. Something further that I should be doing...yeah. There was an idea. And I was more creeped out that I _wasn't_ creeped out than actually creeped out. Er...that made sense to _me_, anyway. At least I think it did. Ah fuck it!

Anyway, so it was that I titled D's head back and kissed him. Started off just a chaste brush of lips, but after D's eyes widened briefly—I guess I was good at doing things he didn't quite expect—I dared to try and entice him into a deeper one, flicking my tongue against his lips, which parted slightly, permitting me access. Across small, perfect teeth and along the roof of his mouth, and then he started to respond in earnest, pressing forward, tangling his tongue around mine, and I was _really_ glad there was a screen seperating us from the driver's sight. Not sure how much he heard, as D was making a funny—but definately pleased—sound in the back of his throat. We were really getting into it when D pulled back, panting lightly.

"Leon," and again the feeling of triumph that D was calling me by name, "you _are_ injured, and this is not an appropriate place for...such activites." I blinked, then frowned.

"Well, like Hell I'll let a mangled shoulder stop me. But maybe...eh, I dunno. News about me'n you'll be all over the place soon enough anyway, so it doesn't matter how much limo-driver hears," I caught his mouth again, and apparently he didn't care so much about that "inappropriate place" shit, since his tongue met mine eagerly. This time it was me that broke the kiss, in order to press my mouth up under his jaw, stroking the tip of my tongue against soft skin. D murmured something good, tilting his head back, eyes closed, lips curled in a content smile. I nipped lightly, then ran my tongue down to where the collar of his stupid dress got in the way, putting my mouth on the warm throat and sucking gently. It was tempting to go at the complicated fastenings and take that damn thing off him, but that really would be a bit too much, so I contended myself with trying to figure out what D tasted like. Certainly not like your average person; his skin wasn't salty at all. It was almost like...whipping cream, mild and cool, sweet but in its own, subdued sort of way. It was good.

Then, quite unexpectedly, the tables were turned, when D slipped out from under my ministartions, nipping along my jaw, making an amused sound when I let my head fall back, exposing my neck more fully.

"If that kami-thing means you're some kinda vampire...oh well," was all I commented, and D shook his head slightly with a soft laugh, two-tone eyes bright. I let my eyes drift shut as he licked my throat, soft lips and tongue tracing lightly along my skin. Damn did I wish we were someplace more private. Even I had more class than to give in and rip D's clothes off in the back seat of a car, limo or not. He probably wouldn't appreciate getting stuff all over the seat anyway...

All of which explained my impatience when we got back to the petshop at last. The second I was in the door, I just stopped, looking around in silence. Damn, was it good to be back here. I flopped down on the couch, just barely avoided jarring my broken shoulder, and sighed in relief.

"Finally..." then D sat down in my lap, and I grinned broadly. Of course, I only had one hand to work with, so I wasn't sure I'd be able to get those stupid clasps open. And D seemed happy to just sit there, nestled up against me, being teasing. No doubt he was teasing on purpose, because he kept shifting, just barely, in my lap, smirking at me, eyes-half lidded. Damn that bastard, he moved again, letting one hand drop from my chest to my waist.

"You are wicked," I told him plainly. His smirk widened, and he placed a hand on the first clasp of his stupid dress-thing, twitching it open as if there was nothing to it. Then he let his hand fall, clearly expecting me to try the next one, see if I could figure out the trick. I fumbled with the thing for a minute, then, purely by chance, hooked my finger in around and, with a single tug, the fastener was undone. Pressing my mouth to D's now-exposed collarbone, working hurriedly at the rest of the clasps, I slid his dress-thing—I really should learn what it was called—off his shoulders, moving my mouth down onto his chest, flicking the tip of my tongue across one small nipple. Yeah, it was weird, but I'd already accepted the idea that it was gonna be. And I hoped D had some idea 'bout how to have sex with another guy, 'cuz I sure as Hell didn't, beyond some simpler stuff.

But then he'd put a hand on my chest and pressed me back, gently but effectively forcing me to stop. Damnit, and I was really getting into it, too.

"Leon, you are injured," he said softly, running his fingers through my hair. I muttered unhappily, trying to pull him close enough to lick again.

"I'm not letting a little scratch get in the way," I said firmly, but D just smirked.

"Well...that is not to say that there is _nothing_ to be done...if you are able to stay still, that is," he looked at me, considering. "I would not wish you to twist your shoulder accidentally."

"What're you...?" I didn't get a chance to finish my question, as the half-naked Chinese guy had suddenly moved back, off the couch, and kneeled on the floor. He edged my legs apart without a word, and I couldn't stop my breath from hitching when he undid my jeans and, with a bit of shifting around on my part, got them—and the boxers underneath—off entirely. I only had time to take a deep breath before—aaahnnng... Twitching, hands tangled in D's thick, silky hair, I really had to fight the urge to immediately jerk my hips foward, try and get deeper into that heated, wet mouth; then I didn't need to worry about it, as D'd pinned me down to the couch, moving closer, pulling me in further. My gasp turned into a low groan, head falling back, eyes fluttering shut. Oh—my—God—oh...another shift, and D'd swallowed me whole, far as I could get, and—ah—ah—oh God... I wasn't the type to babble during sex, normally, but I was vaguely aware that all sorts of stuff was coming out of my mouth now, though the only part that made any sort of sense was an unsteady, broken repetition of, "Oh God D...oh my God D..."

It was too good to stand for long, as things always seem to be. With a violent twitch and a loud groan, I spent myself deep in D's throat, gulping air and disentangling my hands from the man's hair.

Then he was up and sitting beside me, smirking as always. I grabbed him, nearly crushing him against me, catching those curled lips before I even paused to think what had just been in his mouth. Erk. Oh well, nothing to be done for it now, I'd already dipped my tongue in. Then I let my arm slip from around him, trailing fingers down his chest, along his flat belly, down lower—I may never've done this to someone else, but I'd done it enough to at least know something about it. It couldn't be _that_ different to jerk another guy off, after all.

Tugged apart the final bindings of the dress-thing and pushed it out of the way, and my hand went down between D's thighs and—what the Hell? My fingers slid across completely smooth skin. No hair of any kind, anywhere. His smirk widened at my slightly surprised look.

"D, you—wah? You shave?" I mumbled, and he shook his head slightly.

"No, Leon, I do not—I simply do not have any pubic hair."

Well, shit, talk about freakish. But then, what about D _wasn't_ weird? I should've expected something like that, really.

And then I had to pause _again_, suddenly looking around. "Hey, you got any...y'know, lube or what? S'might be rough otherwise..." To my surprise, D actually made a frustrated sound, close to a growl, getting up and almost—but not quite—limping to his desk, digging about in it. D had never seemed the type to keep a bottle of lube out in the front desk, for all his flirtatious habits, but he produced one anyway—why did I get the feeling that he'd less taken it out of the drawer than he had just pulled it out of thin air?—and then he was back in my lap, and I'd snatched the bottle from him, putting some in my hand. Then I just had to do to D what I'd done to myself regularly for years, taking hold of him and stroking. I couldn't help but grin with satisfaction when the pale man gasped, leaning against me, eyes closed. He was a quiet lover, definately, making no more noise than that of his quick breaths against my neck, but he twitched—a _lot_—and jerked, pushing his hips forward in fast rhythm, thrusting into my hand.

D wasn't so endurant as I'd thought he'd be—dunno why I thought he would be, just sorta did automatically I guess—which I suppose was both a good and a bad thing. He gave one final, sharp thrust before sighing deeply, spilling—agghh, all over my fucking lap. Damnit. Not pleasant; it was hot, and sticky, and D didn't seem too keen on getting up so I could get it cleaned off. Shit.

"Hey...uh...D...? You're not falling asleep, are you?" I shook the black-haired fellow lightly, and he mumbled something that sounded suspiciously like a dire threat warning me to let a sleeping D lie. Erk. And the stuff was starting to dry already...damn. Nothing to be done for it.

For the first time I wondered where the Hell all D's pets were. Usually the things were thick around him at all times, but now there wasn't a one to be seen. Not even that stupid goat. Maybe D'd locked them all up earlier, before he came to get me outta the hospital? That idea made sense; definately wouldn't want that goat-thing going at me while my shoulder was wrecked. It'd probably kill me, damnit.

And that, of course, somehow reminded me of Eel-fucker. And that weird shit I'd heard. And the voice which had totally dissa—

_Hold on there. I've not gone anywhere. **Reeouss**! **Reeouss**!_

God _damnit!!_ Not even enough time to knock on wood and the fucking thing was back! And it was even starting to make sense when it talked, sorta. Damnit. I caught myself before I yelled aloud at it; if D heard me talking to someone in my head, he'd think I was crazy.

_Shut the fuck up, go away, and don't come back_, I thought furiously. There was silence for all of three seconds, then,

_A toll, a toll booth, a radio in a big truck—the ocean, so far away, and then it hit—and the sea was the sky, and the big truck was a train wreck, and the noise was incredible... Never heard a thing like it. Through all those years. It was a song for the world, and I—I want to go back now...just let me go home...**Kesyaa**..._ trailing off, vanishing, suddenly sounding frightened and sad. I shook my head vigorously, and D opened his two-toned eyes, stretching and smiling lazily up at me.

"What is the matter, Leon?" he asked in a mild, slow tone, and I looked at him for a moment before glancing away.

"Nothin'. I just been stuck sitting here with _your_ come all over me," I grumbled. D just smirked in his usual infuriating way, standing up, watching through lowered lashes as I did the same.

"Well, it is certainly not _my_ fault...you were the one touching me, after all," he murmured, and I grumbled some more.

* * *

Endnotes:

When Leon talks about whipping cream, he's talking about _real_ whipping cream—the homemade kind, not that imitation stuff you buy in the store. It tastes different. It tastes _better_, as real-made things often do. I dunno if Leon would ever have actually gotten to have homemade whipping cream. Considering his background, probably not. Poor Leon.

Anyway, I _tried_ not to make this too abrupt, while still keeping up with the impatience which Leon is so well known for. It's a fussy mess and I don't know if I got it right. I hope. Otherwise this just seems stupid. Orgh. Now I'm pretty sure I screwed over this chapter badly...it's your fault, Leon!  
Leon: Is not.  
Vix: Is so.


	7. Chapter 7: Mother's Gift

**Ink on Porcelain**

* * *

Chapter 7:   
Mother's Gift

* * *

Author's Notes:   
There is a lot of theorizing-esque stuff about kami families in this chapter! Because it's the fun and easy way to make this story work the way I want it to! Also, this is where the "really freaky" shows its head. Muuhaha.

**Tysoyo Kalli**, glad you enjoyed. 'Cuz there's more coming! As far as the angel-thing...well, I guess it's all a matter of opinion! Seeing as I'm working on a story called Faux Feathers, and the angels most definitely have a defined sex. That's an original story, so it's up on FictionPress.   
**Ice Dragon3**, wooh. Big comment. As far as the spelling mistakes go, yeah, I typically don't use the spellchecker, because it gets annoying when it keeps on picking things that are spelled correctly, like names. And I did not, in fact, misspell "come," "cum" is just a slang spelling of the same word, and I, quite frankly, would rather use the longer spelling. Yeah, I sometimes get junked up with commas, but that's because...I abuse commas! Anyway, I typically don't go back and edit a chapter once it's uploaded, unless I made a _really_ bad mistake—like misspelling a word so that a sentence seems very _wrong_, I've done that before—because I just find it annoying to re-upload something every time I miss a letter. As far as the "me'n you," I didn't add a space because that's how it pops into my head if you were to say it aloud, it would sound like one word. Ah, the details of slang! Yus, Leon's commentary is the best way to avoid ban-worthy content while still including the story elements. And of _course_ the voice is still there! Keekee. As far as the side plot, I dunno. I'm not so great with the heavy angst/normalstuff like that. That's why the genre reads "supernatural."

* * *

**D**

It was amusing, of course, to see Leon muttering about the mess, and I suppose it _was_ not that kind of me to drift off on top of him like that, but I had not slept since going out to chase Eilouran, and even a kami grows weary eventually. And, of course, the Detective had proved to be _most_ comfortable to lay on.

"The bathroom is the third door to the left of the hall, Leon," I said at last, cutting off his grumbling. He looked down the hall, looked at me, and grinned. Hm.

"This's your fault, so you come with," he said, and, grabbing my wrist, tugged me along after him.

It took only a minute for the water to heat up, and then Leon began to struggle with his shirt, trying to get it off without jarring his shoulder. After a few minutes of watching his plight, I grinned slightly, figuring a much easier way to remove the annoying article of clothing. With a quick, calculated brush of my fingernails, the fabric was shorn cleanly off. Leon blinked, gaping at me.

"Hey! That was my shirt!" he announced the obvious, and I only offered him a smile.

"I am sure I will be able to find a replacement," was all I said, and the blonde man seemed, oddly enough, consoled, or at least not inclined to bother about it anymore for the moment. Then he stepped into the shower, pulling me after him.

* * *

It was surprising, how quickly Leon and I adapted to the new arrangements. I had to reprimand him for his crude language countless times, and he accused me quite often of various things, all of which was taken as a given part of an average day. And he had not yet asked again what a kami was, but I knew that would change soon enough.

It was one full week after his taking up residence in the shop. Leon was, as was usual during the business hours, entertaining Pon-chan and several other animals in his usual way, amusing them with his short temper. I could not help but smile slightly at the way they clambered about, ever teasing and evading him. I wondered if, when I told him what a kami was, he would perhaps be more open to the less-than-usual and be able to see the animals as I saw them.

He didn't even spare a wary glance for Tet-chan, who was crouched in a corner, being irritated as usual. It had only taken a short talk with me to deter him from attacking the injured—and therefore extremely tempting—Leon, but no amount of persuasion in the world could stop him from sulking about it. Sometimes the Tou-tetsu really was such a childish creature.

"And remember, if you break any part of the contract, this shop will not be held responsible for the consequences," I finished off my usual warning, bidding the happy couple and their new pet—a small cockatrice, unfortunately for them—goodbye. Leon had since stopped protesting me running my business, instead occupied at the moment with catching Pon-chan, who had run off with his car keys.

I had not yet dare to put forth any of my...interesting ideas. Such as, perhaps, a change in Leon's wardrobe. While I knew his figure would never, _ever_ work with the sort of outfits I preferred, I was certain there were plenty of styles which would complement him much better than the t-shirts and jeans he so often wore.

"Come back here!" Leon nearly roared, attempting to reach Pon-chan, who had climbed up a drapery and was now taunting the blonde officer with his snatched keys, giggling happily, pleased with this game. Leon, of course, found it far less amusing—or at least he acted as though he did. In truth, had he really wanted to, he could have locked his belongings away, where the animals could not reach them, but he had not, even after this scene had repeated itself several times. I suspected he was not nearly so bothered by the animal's games as he pretended.

Then he grabbed the drape and gave it a vicious shake, and Pon-chan fell straight into his arms. He blinked when she giggled and grinned up at him, squealing, "Ooh, Leon _caught_ me!"

"Hey, I thought you were a raccoon!" he said loudly, and Pon-chan, clapping her hands, cheered joyfully.

"I am a raccoon!" she laughed at him. He stared, baffled, at the young girl, and she poked him on the nose. The scene was simply so adorable, with Leon's utterly lost expression and Pon-chan's bright, beaming grin, that I could not help but chuckle lightly at the two.

"Well, Leon, it seems you have finally bothered to look _beyond_ what is immediately apparent," I congratulated mildly. The Detective just made a "huh" noise, then retrieved his keys from Pon-chan's hand.

"Well. One mystery solved. They really _do_ look human," he muttered, looking about, noticing, for the first time, all the exotic-looking animal-people sprawled about. "God knows how many to go." Then he looked straight at me, intensely. "Like that 'kami' thing you never did explain." I sighed.

"Yes, of course," well, I was not about to lie to Leon _now_. I would have to tell him sooner or later, after all, elsewise many of my ideas would be quite impossible. "I will explain this as simply as I can. A kami is like a god of animals and nature." I waited for comprehension to dawn. Slowly, his eyes went wide.

"Wait—you're a—a—a fucking _god?!_"

"Language, Leon."

He started laughing, but it was not a good laughter. It was hoarse, barking laughter.

"Holy fuck....what a damn mess I'm in...fell for a fucking _god_..." he glanced at me, nervous, now, and I tilted my head as if to say I did not know what he was fretting about. In truth, I was quite annoyed with his reaction.

"Leon, I hope you will not think that anything has changed," I said quietly. "After all, I have always been a kami, and I have not offered any retribution for the way you act. Well, nothing beyond what is sensible, anyway." He snorted. Then, sitting down beside me, he tugged me against him.

"Well," he mumbled, "god or no, whatever. Damnit, I don't care." Grip tightening, he pulled me onto his lap, nuzzling my neck, drawing to attention, also, the fact that he needed a shave. "Of course...that means you'll live forever...and I kinda...won't."

"I am working on a solution to that problem," I replied quickly. I had thought of near nothing, of course, but that was not a matter. I would find something. "I am more worried about the fact that this type of relationship is often severely frowned upon by other kamis, _especially_ my grandfather. There are some who find nothing wrong with it, but Grandfather is a very strict fellow, and he sometimes he believes he and he alone knows what is best for me. I do not know where he has gone, but when he returns..."

"It won't be pretty?" Leon offered, and I nodded. He growled with frustration. "The family _always_ causes trouble..." More muttering, and then I leaned back against him, and he was distracted from his grumbles, opting instead to press his mouth to the back of my neck. Again, the scratch of stubble, and I determined to do something about it, turning about in Leon's arms. Brushing my fingertips along his jaw, I carefully tilted my hand, the tips of my nails just barely grazing along the skin, and Leon blinked.

"Hold still," I instructed calmly, stroking the sharp edges of my nails lightly, carefully, making certain not to nick him. Leon did as he was told, thankfully, remaining utterly motionless, even going so far as to hold his breath. Within moments I had finished, and I smiled pleasantly at him. He ran his hand over his own jaw, blinking, obviously at how smooth a job I'd done. Then he was busy, because I had pressed my lips to his, teasing them apart with my tongue, slipping into his mouth for a bout of exploration, stroking the roof of his mouth, along his tongue, catching and sucking at his bottom lip. Then I broke the kiss, just smiling at him, and laid my head on his uninjured shoulder. I would not, for the moment, worry about Leon's mortality. I would not fret over my mysteriously vanished grandfather.

"Hey D...? What was that Eel-fucker guy, anyway?" Leon asked then, and I paused, wondering who he was talking about. "Er, Eilouran."

"Oh!" I said, then rolled my eyes at Leon's choice of a nickname. It _was_ fitting, however, so I said nothing about it. "I am not sure exactly what he was, actually. Some form of...wind incarnation. I have never encountered such a thing as him." Leon muttered something. "I do _not_ know everything..."

"So what's a **_Shie-Hyen Fenne_**?" Leon's next question made me start.

"A—what?" I replied. "I do not know. I have never heard of it." Leon muttered something again.

"It's not English," he said then. "I don't know what the language's called. I only know what **_hyen_** means. It was...n'yeah, it means 'voice' and some other stuff." Musingly, I toyed with a few strands of his golden mane.

"Oh? And where did you hear of this?" I asked, and his reply was a mumble, as he'd caught my hand and pressed it to his lips.

"Eel-fucker was talking—arguing—with his sister, and he was speaking some other language. Kept mentioning some **_Shie-Hyen Fenne_** thing."

I paused, watching with distracted amusement as he licked my fingers slowly, carefully avoiding the long nails.

"It is another mystery," I sighed. "So many puzzles to be solved." Leon nodded, also looking distracted.

* * *

It was inevitable. Of course once Leon's shoulder had healed he would want to get back to his job. Nevermind that he no longer needed the paycheck; he felt that he had to do his duty, continue catching criminals. I was understandably reluctant to allow it, what with the danger, but I knew I would have to relent.

At the moment, however, I was content, sprawled with the blonde man under the covers, limbs tangled together, snuggled up against his chest, wrapped in warmth. A quick brush of lip-on-lip set off another deep, needy kiss, one which swiftly began to escalate into even more.

* * *

**Leon**

Now I was finally fit and able, I wasn't surprised at the situation turning out. Soft caresses and teasing touches turned into more, and D had the sense to dig out the lube before things got much farther. I was laying on my back, shifting uncertainly, no idea what would happen next. Maybe, if I'd thought of it, I would've been more insistent on being on top; as it was, I was kinda caught by surprise, with D's light, slim body stretched out on top of me, his tongue flicking across my chest, stroking a nipple teasingly. Then he dumped a generous amount of lube on his fingers, hand slipping down—

"This may hurt slightly at first, Leon," he warned. "Just relax yourself as much as you can, and I promise you will enjoy it." And then he slid a finger up inside.

"Agh—!" I snatched a handful of sheets, yelping sharply, and D froze.

"N-no—don't—don't s-stop—!" I begged unsteadily, and he went deeper—oh God, oh God—and...ah...oh... He touched something, some sensitive place deep in there, and I gasped out a moan, twitching. Ah—ah—ah—ah God... A second finger joined the first, and I bit back a scream—a good scream or a bad scream, I didn't know, it hurt like Hell but it felt so amazing...!

After a moment the fingers were gone, but before I could even recover from that they were replaced by something that was a lot bigger and a _lot_ harder. I didn't manage to stop the shriek this time, but it was muffled by D's mouth, which claimed mine in another demanding kiss. He pushed in, slid deep, and remained still, waiting for my chest to stop heaving quite so badly, waiting for me to stop almost-whimpering. And then, once he judged I'd become accustomed enough to the intrusion, he started to _move_.

"Oh—oh—oh—oh—" I was gulping, gasping for breath, eyes shut tight, teeth bared in a grimace, twitching and hissing with every slow, even slide, unconsciously starting to move in rhythm, clutching the sheets in a death-grip.

"D—oh—God—D—ahnn—h-harder—!" I couldn't quite believe what I was pleading—or, at least, if I had been able to think I wouldn't've believed it. As it was, I was nearly insensate, wrapped up in the moment, the motion, the feel of it.

Then D reached down and wrapped his hand around me, and I didn't last much longer after that, whole body tightening up—and squeezing around D inside me, setting him off as well—then relaxing again after I'd released.

Then he slid out, and just laid beside me, eyes closed, breathing heavy. I, of course, was shaking, panting, and trying to recover myself after that...experience.

D, thankfully, had enough presence of mind to make a fair job of cleaning the mess off of us, then he wrapped his arms around me and sighed contentedly. A long, lazy silence followed, D just enjoying being there, laying with me, and me trying not to move much because it _hurt_. But it'd been worth it. At that moment, I wondered if this really could last forever. Not the pain part, but...you know what I mean. If D figured out how to fix the life span issue.  Could he? Could he figure out a way I'd live as long as him? The idea was...it was a little overwhelming. But exciting. And I wouldn't turn down a shot at immortality. ...What person would?

"Watcha thinkin' 'bout?" I asked suddenly, not bothering to clearly pronounce my words. D blinked his eyes half-open and mumbled sleepily.

"Grandfather," he replied, "and why he has not returned, and where he has gone..."

"Hmm..." I nuzzled his neck, playing with a few strands of silky black hair. "We'll deal with it when he comes back. I know making an enemy of a god isn't too bright an idea, but I'm not letting some old bastard chase me away."

"Language."

...argh.

* * *

It was a few days later that I found myself back in the office of the department. Predictably, everyone had learned, from one source or another, about me and the Count. The constant jeers met, surprisingly, with defensive hostility from Jill, as well as several others. Mostly the women of the force, but a few of the guys as well.

"Back off, fucktards!" Jill nearly screeched, flailing an aggressor who'd come too close with the nearest heavy object. He was just lucky it wasn't a stapler—that's what she'd gotten the last guy with, and boy had the both of them gotten told off for that. Jill, of course, escaped too much heavy reprimanding, even though she _had_ stapled the guy's shirt to his body. I didn't feel very sympathetic for said guy.

I was slightly amazed at how violently she was retaliating against all the assholes who were happily squawking things like "faggot," and other varieties of insults, forming a noisy backdrop that effectively rendered me incapable of really getting any work done.

It seemed I'd acquired a little circle of guardians who hovered about, almost but not quite as annoying as the other people. They were all achatter with how it was great I'd finally gotten over all that denial stuff and gone for it, and how happy they were for me now I'd moved in with D, and all sorts of shit.

And, of course, everybody immediately made a big deal over the fact that I "wasn't acting like my normal, stormy self." I was, in fact, ignoring most of them; preoccupied with thoughts about what D's granddad might do, or how D would make it so I wouldn't just up and die on him. I kinda hoped it wasn't anything too painful—or gross—though I knew I'd go through with it anyway, whatever it was. The thought of leaving D now that I'd finally given in and realized it actually _could_ work out was not a pleasant one.

"Hellooo?" a hand waved in front of my face. "This is Earth, calling in to Leon Orcot...! Do you read? Repeat, do you read?" I snatched Jill's hand and shoved her away in annoyance, and she snorted at me. "I was just trying to _say_, you have a visitor." A broad grin. "Apparently D just can't stand to let you out of his sight. Not that I blame him; you could get yourself killed six ways from Sunday if you didn't have somebody to cover your ass!"

And then D was standing there, calm as ever, ignoring the jeers and derisive laughter of all the people keeping carefully out of range. I'd given enough rants about the "creepy petshop owner" that everyone was now quite wary of him, even if they _had_ thought I went way overboard with my accusations.

"Hey D, what's up?" I asked, not failing to notice the oddly satisfied smirk he wore, the excited glint in his eyes. The overall...near-mischievousness of his expression. Uh-oh.

"Do you think we could talk somewhere privately, Leon?" he asked quietly, and immediately the shouts swelled, only to be silence when a screaming Jill descended upon them, breaking their little gang apart into individuals that ran like frightened rabbits from the vicious woman. "I suppose I could have waited, but I thought it best to prepare you before you arrived home." I looked around, stood up, stretched.

"It's about time for me to end off for the day anyway," I said. "C'mon."

Once I was out at the car, I leaned against it, looking at D consideringly. "So, what's going on?"

"Grandfather has come back," the Count replied. His severe news disagreed sharply with his lighthearted tone, but I found out why a moment later. "He knows about you and I—of course, one cannot keep anything from Grandfather—but all he has done has offered a brief warning that you not interfere with his business." I blinked at that. "Leon, I do not know why, but Grandfather, it seems, accepted the fact that I have fallen in love with a human. At the very least, he is keeping his opinion to himself and letting us be." Way more than I had ever dared hoped for. I grinned, snatching D up in a tight hug, actually lifting him up off the ground. I knew there would be people watching, but fuck them all. "There is more, Leon..." Now he sounded more...tentative. Uncertain, but hopeful. "But remember that it is entirely your choice, and I will do nothing to try and persuade you into doing it if you do not wish." I blinked. This was sounding suspicious as Hell. But intriguing, too. "I...was asking Grandfather's advice on how to extend a human's lifespan without...adverse effects. He made his disinterest in the topic clear, except for one suggestion which—if I am any judge—seemed to excite him. He told me that, in the past, there have been kamis who took mortals as mates, and there is one thing which will guarantee the human a life as long as that of their immortal love..." He trailed off, damn him and his dramatics, half hesitating and half building suspense.

"What?" I demanded, and D, of course, continued to meander around the topic, thoroughly enjoying my anticipation.

"It is amazing, the things one never notices but which are so powerful. The family ties between kamis are usually very strong—we do not precisely depend on one another, but we are very important to each other. We do not drift apart over time, as humans families often do, or fall out of touch," he murmured. "A new addition to the family is often welcomed joyously, as well, by all."

"D..." I guess my impatience was plenty obvious, as he smiled again, perfectly innocent, like he _hadn't_ been deliberately avoiding coming out and saying it.

"Leon, the truest way to attain the life of a kami is to bear the child of a kami."

Fuh...? The way he was looking at me, I knew that the little matter that I wasn't exactly capable of that was unimportant. Of course. This was D we were dealing with. "Impossible" only meant "fun" to him. Still, I could not resist commenting.

"So, uh, how...how would that work?" my voice turned rather thin. D smiled broadly as I set him down, afraid I might not be able to hold him up much longer—if my legs gave out under me, I didn't want him collapsing too.

"Human bodies are simple enough to modify, to an extent," he said simply. I went bug-eyed.

"Holy shit—! You...you're gonna..." I couldn't give voice to the horror he was implying.

"No, I will _not_ turn you into a woman," he chuckled. "You would simply be made capable of childbirth—and only for as long as necessary. So you would temporarily be of be of both sexes," he explained. I was freaked, but less so than I had been a moment before.

"So no boobs."

"No, Leon, no breasts."

"...Okay, that's...that's fucking freaky, but..." I looked at him, studied those mismatched eyes. Weird, how the conflicting colors made one look like it was always more dilated than the other. "...there's more, huh. You just want a kid, right D?" The kami blinked, then nodded.

"Well, yes. It is only natural," his voice was musing. "Most creatures, even the majority of humans, desire to raise offspring once they have found their mate. Kamis are no exception. That is, I suppose, why there is a Mother's Gift—the gift of a kami's lifespan to a mortal creature which bares a kami's child. As I said, our family ties are strong, and new kami children are always welcome. And how good of a family could we be, if we simply allowed the members to die? So it is a gift to a new member of the family. Of course, it can only be offered by another kami, usually the parent of the one who has chosen a mortal mate. Since my parents are...not available, Grandfather offered it, though grudgingly." Now _that_ was shocking. D's granddad had been the one to offer me this chance?

I supposed it could've seemed like a tough choice to some—most—guys, but the simple fact of it was that there were plenty of reasons to do this, and not that many not to. Major reasons for were that, if I didn't, I'd get old and die and leave D alone, D wanted a kid anyway, and D's granddad would probably kill me for being ungrateful because in-laws are just like that. The reasons not to, in comparison, just seemed selfish and cowardly. So it wasn't that surprising that I had my answer after only a short time in the car, heading back to the shop.

"I'll do it, D. It's freakish as Hell, but I'll do it. Only for you, though," I said, giving him a glance as well I could, without fully taking my eyes off the road, to see his reaction. I swear to God, I've never seen the guy so happy—nothing I'd ever given him had gotten him to look so positively overjoyed. That alone made the whole decision way more than worth it. Way, way more.

* * *

Endnotes:

Most of whom I've seen like to make D the gender-bender. Most also make Leon the seme (for those unaware, "seme" is the dominant and "uke" the submissive.)   
I like my version better. Nyah! And yes, the horror of **m-preg**! I know very well that some people are disgusted by it. But, y'see, it's for plot purpose. That, and, I'm a sick, sick teenage guy who likes to torture his favorite characters.


	8. Chapter 8: A Guess at a Meaning

**Ink on Porcelain**

* * *

Chapter 8:  
A Guess at a Meaning

* * *

Author's Notes:  
Um, um, I've been neglectful! Argh-a-bargh!

**Tysoso Kalli**, quote away to your heart's content!  
**Billie Jukes** seems to be having a little too much fun with this thing :D  
**Ice Dragon3**, I've seen incompetent fools, and so it pleases me to say you are not in that category. You've certainly made nothing worse!  
**Sierra-Falls**, kekeke. Mr. Crazy Voice.

* * *

**Leon**

D's grandfather was sitting perched on the very edge of D's usual chair, like he wasn't quite comfortable there but too engrossed in the book he held in his hands to go somewhere else. The pages were yellowed with age, covered in cramped writing that I couldn't've read if my life depended on it—I'd bet it was Chinese—and he barely even seemed to notice our arrival, until D mumbled something that might've been a greeting. I sure as Hell couldn't tell, seeing as I didn't speak Chinese, and then the man who looked so much like D it was creepy looked up and offered the pair of us a calmly interrogating—but, thankfully, not malignant—look, before going back to reading. Taking the warning D had passed on to me fully to heart, I didn't say a thing, leaving him alone, going back the hall. D stayed behind, and I heard a quiet conversation—again, in Chinese, so I had no idea what they were talking about—beginning.

When I closed the door behind me, the first thing I had to worry about was the devil-goat, who had been curled up on the middle of the bed. Seeing him as a person didn't really make his vicious attacks any better, just weirder. But, at the moment, all the evil Tet was doing was glaring at me. Maybe D'd given him another talking to about attacking me? Well, small blessings; it would only last about a week at most. I sprawled out on the mattress, giving the goat-man the Evil Eye when he snarled at me.

"Shut the fuck up, Tet," I said flatly, and, with a few dark mutters, the goat rolled off the bed and slinked away to some dark corner somewhere.

* * *

**D**

"_Of course he agreed. He really is more steadfast than you think,_" I murmured, but Grandfather only looked at me, a look that suggested I was making myself sound like a fool. I tilted my head, frowning. "_Yes, Grandfather, I believe that Leon is far better than you assume._"

"_Of course, else you would not be with him,_" the elder kami replied at last. "_But that is not the matter here. I am sure you have wondered at my allowance of this...relationship. I have even offered him the Mother's Gift if he bears you a child. Surely you do not think I have decided to let you throw yourself away for a mere human?_" He paused, but not long enough to allow me to speak, watching me with a subdued intensity. "_No, never for a human. I would never have allowed it._" Wait...was he suggesting...? "_I left to find something. To see if I was correct—I always thought you to have better judgment than to become so involved with a human. I could not believe you would fall in such a way. And yet it seemed to be happening, did it not?_" Again, a pause not long enough to let me say something. "_I would not believe it, and so I went in search of answers. And I found something rather...interesting. I am not completely certain. But I believe I am correct._" He gestured to the book resting in his lap. "_I made all my notes here, you may look at them if you wish. The simple, shortened version is that Leon is something...else. Not human. Not god. Not beast. Something—_"

"—_Like Eilouran and Neilfer_," I interrupted. But was it possible? I had never been able to tell those two were anything but human when they were not in their true form. It seemed impossible. Grandfather looked considering.

"_Eilouran. Neilfer. Those names were mentioned in what little I uncovered. That text was from ancient Greece. Also mentioned was the name Leoniidas. Mentor of the Spartan King Leonidas, who fashioned himself in honor of the man who taught him,_" his voice was a very quiet murmur, but I missed not a word. Leoniidas? "_I found out little more, as most of the writing was destroyed. But I pieced together that Eilouran, Neilfer, and Leoniidas were all the same type of being—**Hyen Fenne**. The title is of a language I barely recognize and do not know the name of, a language that was dead before I was born. Or so I believed._"

"_**Hyen**,_" I murmured. Grandfather raised one eyebrow slightly. "_Leon told me he heard Eilouran and Neilfer speaking, and one word, **hyen**, he said meant 'voice.'_"

"_...and how did he know what this word meant? I doubt those two stopped and told him_," the ancient kami mused, folding his hands. I shook my head slightly.

"_I did not ask him._"

"_Perhaps you should. It could prove...interesting. I will be leaving again; I will return in a few months. I imagine you and Leon will be in need of my help by that time_," he smirked. "_Until then...well, I trust you to keep him from ruining everything. He may not be a human, but he is _still _an idiot._" And then the kami rose and left, leaving me to my wonder. Could Leon possibly be the same form of being as Eilouran and Neilfer? Was that why they had kidnapped him; because he had been involved with them in ancient times? Leoniidas. Leon. Could he really be a—a **_Hyen Fenne_**? If **_hyen_** meant voice, what might **_fenne_** mean? So many questions.

I opened the door to my room, discovered Leon sprawled on the bed, apparently slightly worn out after his day at work. I certainly did not blame him; I had only been there a few minutes, and already the noise had grown tiresome.

I sat down beside him, and he mumbled, lifting his head up from where it had been, face buried in a pillow.

"Hi D," he said lazily, and I could not help but smile.

"Hello, Leon." I considered how I should tell him of Grandfather's ideas. He would probably most appreciate it if I simply out and told him; it had been amusing to watch his anticipation build when I was explaining the Mother's Gift, but now did not seem the time for games. "Grandfather had something to say of you." That got his wary attention. "He does not believe you are human." A pause, then an amused snort.

"Well, if he's gonna have a fit of denial, let 'im," the blonde said, but I shook my head slightly, and he fell silent, frowning.

"He was away looking for something, and what he found was rather interesting. I have yet to read all the notes he left for me, but the main idea of it was this; the pair who kidnapped you, Eilouran and Neilfer, were mentioned in ancient Greek texts. As well as a third name. Leoniidas."

"Leoniidas? Wasn't he a...?" Leon trailed off, and again, I shook my head.

"Leonidas was the great Spartan King. Leoniidas was his mentor, who he named himself after." That made Leon pause, the shrug.

"Okay. So Eil and Neil were kicking around for a long while, and there was a third guy too. What's that got to do with me?"

"They are called **_Hyen Fenne_**. You said **_hyen_** means voice. How did you know what it meant?" I asked, and suddenly he looked nervous, almost.

"I...uh..." his hesitation made me certain. Either he was not sure how he knew, or he did not like the way he'd found out.

"Leon, the only people on Earth who knew that language were Eilouran and Neilfer, and possibly any other **_Hyen Fenne_** which may still be alive. That language has been dead for uncountable ages. No human has ever known it to exist. Grandfather does not even know its name," I said, quiet but intense. Leon's immediate reply seemed like he did not even think about what he was saying.

"It's called **_Hyessro_**," he muttered lowly, then gaped, like he could not believe what he'd just said. "I..." He shook his head, growling something unintelligible, then looked me straight in the eye, daring me to accuse him of seeming strange. "Somebody told me. Somebody from a dream. It's stupid, and I know it makes me crazy—most of what they say doesn't make any sense—but...well...that's where I heard what it meant." I remained silent. A voice from a dream...?

"No, Leon," I said quietly, "you are not crazy. I do not, however, know what is going on. Hopefully my grandfather will find something in his search."

"He left again?" Leon asked, hopeful. I nodded.

"He said he will return in a few months, as he thinks we will need his aid then."

"Thank God for small miracles." He grinned at the exasperated look I gave him. "So what about that...that other deal? Do we have to pick a certain time, or what?" I stretched out beside him, toying with a lock of golden hair.

"Yes," I said at last, "but I already know the correct time. Humans are more frustrating to determine their fertility, since they do not have a set time to mate, but it was not too difficult to figure out. That way, we can avoid some of the more...unpleasant things." The thought of Leon with PMS was a terrifying one. The dear Detective already had enough problems with mood swings.

"So...when?" he asked simply. I tugged him closer to me, stroking his shoulders.

"The best time will be next Monday," I murmured. That would be four days from now, so there would not be too much of a wait.

"I'm not even gonna ask how you figured it out, I don't wanna know," Leon mumbled into my hair. I just smiled and closed my eyes, laying in his arms. Nothing in the world was better.

"Very well, Leon. Very well."

* * *

**Leon**

Four days can pass by really quick, or really slow. I kinda experienced both. In one way, that Monday's approach was torturously, agonizingly slow. In another, it was way too fast.

I'd remembered my old habit of bringing D sweets all the time, and it really paid off over the weekend; he even relented and let me be on top for once. That was a fun Saturday.

And now it was Monday. I hadn't gone into work at all—D had already come up with some way for me to get an extended leave. I didn't even ask how he'd wrangled that outta the Chief, since I was kinda afraid I didn't wanna know. I just knew I sure as Hell wouldn't wanna be still going in there in a few months. Damn, was this gonna be weird as Hell...

But...I guess...it was for D, after all. Would it really be so bad? D knew about this pregnancy shit, and he'd told me time and again that he'd be right there for me. That was comforting, since I really had no idea.

So here I was, sprawled out on the bed, D straddling my waist, neither of us wearing a thing.

"This will feel odd, and remember, your female parts will be virgin, so this will probably hurt." Shit, D always had that matter-of-fact way of telling me this wasn't gonna be all that much fun. Oh well. At least he didn't just lie to me, right? No time to worry about that now, though, as he'd already moved his hand down and...I don't know _what_ the Hell he did. Odd was an understatement; I was twitching uncontrollably, and my brain was going screwy trying to deal with the sudden change. I think I even lost consciousness—briefly—during the ordeal.

It was...different. Different, but not bad. Just so _weird_. D was smirking at me, damn the man, but I knew he would wait for me to give him the a-okay before he did anything. I took a few deep breaths, steeling myself, resisting the urge to look down—I wasn't sure I really _wanted_ to see the change—and swallowed.

"O-okay, that...that was...unbelievably weird," I said finally, and then D touched me. I gasped and gulped again. "This's gonna be...really...different..."

That was the last cognitive sentence I got out before D put his fingers up and in, exploring the newly added opening, and I panted and moaned, arching my back, legs spreading involuntarily. D seemed to find it unbelievably funny that he had me grabbing at the sheets and babbling in no time; it was so freakish—it was so _good_—oh God—!

Of course I _knew_ about the whole multiple orgasms deal—I'd caused enough before I met D—but it's a very different thing when you're the one having them. Jerking, screaming out, gasping for breath every chance I got, and D, that fucker, just thought it was hilarious. I knew what came next, of course, but—as seemed so often the case—my brain could barely register that D'd withdrawn his hand before he'd slid himself in deep, silencing my near-shriek with a deep kiss. I held onto him, clawed at his back, sank my teeth into his shoulder—holy fuck, it _hurt_ like _Hell!!!_ Something got ripped inside, something broken open, and D was saying something, but I'd be damned if I had any idea what. He was trying to pull back, pull away—afraid he'd hurt me, but I wrapped my legs around him, held him where he was, wouldn't let him pull out. It hurt—oh God it hurt—but I wanted him to _move_, and I urged him to do it, but he wasn't—God damnit, if he wouldn't move, then I fucking would! I started bucking my hips against him, another deep moan working itself up from my throat, and then he'd started moving in tandem, and grabbed my previously neglected member.

I think I might've scared some of the animals in the shop when I threw my head back and screamed again, D spilling into me. Then the pair of us just lay there, tangled up with each other, gasping, slick with sweat and come and blood, eyes closed. Neither of us moved for a long time, until finally D murmured quietly,

"Leon, I...I hurt you...I should not have—"

"Shut up," I interrupted him, shoving the pain back out of my mind as best I could. It wasn't _important_, damnit, go _away!!_ Stupid pain. "S'not your fault. I agreed to it."

"But I should have been more—"

"I _said_, shut up," I nearly growled, squeezing him in a tight embrace. He sighed, giving up on trying to blame himself. For the moment. "Now. How will we know?"

"I already know," was the simple reply. Well, of course he was. This was D,after all."And the answer is yes." Talk about the weirdest thing. A kid. Only it was gonna grow inside _me_, which kinda twisted the whole "father" deal. Technically, D was the actual father. Shit. This was the fucking freakiest situation...but it was for D. That was important. Not the pain, not the fact that I had to be the mom, not any of the rest. The important thing was that I was doing this for D.

* * *

**D**

The rest of the day was surprisingly ordinary. Leon winced occasionally, but he refused to stay totally inactive, even if he was not so ready to become involved in the pets' games as usual. He just barely evaded Tet-chan's first strike, which was a rather deadly one—the Tou-tetsu could still smell the blood that had been spilled, and it only fueled his usual desire to devour Leon. He was quite shocked when I snapped severely at him, commanding him to leave the blonde man alone indefinitely. All of the animals were guessing something must have happened by then, even the ones who could not quite understand what the strange change in Leon's smell was, beyond the scent of blood. Pon-chan, noticing Leon's flinch when she sprang into his lap as was her habit, looked up at him with concern.

"What's wrong, Leon?" she asked. "You made a face like it hurt." I could not help but chuckle slightly, walking over and picking the little raccoon girl up from the Detective's lap.

"Leon will need to start being more careful," I said softly, "else he may do himself or the child harm."

"Child?" Pon-chan blinked in confusion. "So that's why Leon smells different! Leon's not just a guy anymore! And Leon's gonna be a mommy!" She was giggling and clapping her hands, all squirming excitement over this development, and Leon was wearing an expression somewhere between horror and embarrassment. With a slight laugh, I set Pon-chan down on the floor and wrapped my arms around the blonde. He muttered something, and sighed.

"Freaky," I heard him mumble under his breath.

"But not so bad, is it?" I asked quietly, and he hugged me. I laid my head on his shoulder, playing with his hair.

"Naw. I guess not. S'long as you don't, y'know, expect me to know anything about this..." he replied.

"Well, I will certainly be explaining the details of pregnancy," I chuckled, and then the door swung open. No knock whatsoever. How rude.

The intruder was Jill, and she was storming as bad as Leon ever had, but she stopped the moment she saw us, sitting wrapped in each other's arms. Neither I nor Leon made any move to disentangle from one another, and that seemed to make her reconsider whatever tirade she'd had prepared.

However, she wasn't stalled completely, and the woman had soon recovered her accusations, pointing at the blonde man as if to reaffirm her sense of justice in bothering us.

"Leon, you've taken leave for a whole damn year, and you got away with it thanks to D! What's going on?!" she demanded, and the Detective rolled his eyes. But I could tell he was thinking furiously about how to get out of this situation. Obviously, Leon would not want , but he also greatly trusted Jill, and I doubted he had any convincing idea about how to stall her.

"Miss Jill," I said calmly, providing a distraction to allow Leon to think, "I would appreciate if you did not come yelling into my shop. Many of the animals may become agitated..." That quieted her down quickly, and she flushed with embarrassment, going silent.

I knew that, once the child was born, Jill would find out, one way or another. And she might make stopping by my shop a habit, in which case she would _certainly_ notice when Leon's pregnancy started to show.

"You know she will figure it out eventually, Leon," I murmured in his ear. Jill watched us like a hawk, but did not go any closer, though she was straining to hear. "I can banish her from the shop if you truly wish, but that does not seem a very useful solution..." He nodded.

"I know. But D...if we explain, we explain _everything_. About you being a god and that," his voice was thick and frustrated, and that frustration was reflected in the way he held me, possessively almost. Possessive of the secrets I had trusted him enough to reveal. A trust which he would never betray. "And I thought you'd rather not have everybody know."

Yes, there was the issue. I had always preferred secrecy, because when people know that you are a god, they tend to become annoying. However...

"If you believe Jill can be trusted to keep secrets, then I will trust her as well," I said simply. And, apparently, loud enough for the woman to hear, as she immediately barked,

"I can keep a secret!"

"Fine," Leon said, fixing Jill with a severe stare. "But if anybody—_anybody_—hears about this, you. Will. Be. Dead. Got that?" She nodded emphatically. "Here's the deal. D's a kami—a god." Bug-eyed borderline-disbelief, but Leon pressed ahead. "He'll live forever, I won't. Or at least I wouldn't've, except D's granddad offered me a way I'd be granted immortality as well. It's called the Mother's Gift. Pretty much, if I have D's kid, I get to live as long as D. Of course, he's a god, so he can...change people around a little, so I can do that. Have a kid, I mean. Um...yeah." Jill's expression had gone blank, and Leon was bright red with embarrassment, hunching his shoulders. Such an amusing situation.

"You're not kidding, are you?" Jill's voice was so quiet I could barely hear it, and Leon shook his head.

"No kidding."

Then came the expected outburst, loud enough to nearly make me wince. "So you're _pregnant?!_"

"Yuh," was the flat reply. "And so, no work for me for somewhere around nine months. And then more no work, because I gotta help D with the kid."

"Holy fuck," the woman announced.

"Language, Miss Jill," the urge had been irresistible, and Leon burst out laughing. Jill made a chagrinned expression, muttering what may have possibly been an apology. Then she looked thoughtful, sitting down on an unoccupied chair.

"So Leon's pregnant with your kid, D," she confirmed, and I nodded unnecessarily. "That's almost a scary thought. Whatcha gonna name him? Or her."

"I am not sure," I said musingly. "Perhaps—"

"Uh-uh," Leon predictably cut me off, "you'll name the kid something I can't even _pronounce_."

"Then what would you suggest?" I asked him, one eyebrow raised, and he went silent. "Mm-hm. As I thought."

"What about Delon?" came the unexpected help from Jill. "Y'know. D, and Leon, just mix the letters up a little." There was no instant reply, and she lowered her head slightly. "Okay. Stupid idea. Sorry."

"No," I argued mildly, "it is not at all a stupid idea." Leon just grinned. Delon it was, then. Provided the child was a boy. I would not be able to tell for some time.

"Okay, I think D's got everything well in hand. Just don't do anything incredibly stupid, Leon," Jill rose and made for the door, but gave one last parting shot over her shoulder, "and good luck dealing with morning sickness!" Leon groaned at the mere thought, and then Jill, with a vicious laugh, was gone.

"Well, she took that much better than I expected," I murmured.

"Hmm," Leon replied, more concerned with pressing his lips to mine than with talking. All the animals had heard, so those who had not already realized what Pon-chan had were now chattering avidly, excited. I was quite excited as well; for, as Leon had so accurately guessed before, I really did wish for a child. Nine months is an incredibly short time for an immortal, but it was already seeming like far, far too long.

* * *

Endnotes:  
Go Jill! She's fun to write too.

Here's hoping I didn't get a little too crazy this chapter. Somebody said something about a kami's gestation period, but Leon isn't a kami, now is he? So it's not quite applicable!

The deal with the Spartan King Leonidas, and the "mentor" Leoniidas...I couldn't resist, really.In my 10th grade World Cultures class, I did a report on Leonidas of Sparta, and from there became quite fascinated with the man. Plus, it _was_ convenient.


	9. Chapter 9: Bitter as You Please

**Ink on Porcelain

* * *

**

Chapter 9:  
Bitter as You Please

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Author's Notes:  
I tried to re-write this chapter. To steady out the pacing a bit, to keep the big revelations from happening the way they do. But that proved to be the _wrong_ course of action, and if I hadn't made a backup copy of the chapter before attempting to re-write it, this fic would not have continued ever again. Because lemme tell you something, you may not realize it, but when I'm creating something like this, one wrong move and I'll lose everything I've got for it. Also, I'm not replying to reviews this time, because I've sort of gotten out of the habit of it. So thank you, all reviewers!

* * *

Well, well, well...what have we here? It seems the poor falcon has broken his wings... 

"Go...away..." the hoarse, agonized voice, ripping free of the dry and mangled throat, across a swollen and unresponsive tongue, out through cracked lips. Oh, how wonderful. Delicious. I tittered lightly behind one long, thin-boned hand, clawlike fingers slightly curled against my cold lips.

"Poor birdie," I giggled, my voice mad, uneven, high-pitched, strained from years—dozens of years—of abuse. All that time screaming... "Poor birdie, poor birdie. You've shattered yourself all to pieces!" Pale eyes fluttered open, staring unfocused, trying to get a bead on me and failing miserably.

Such a pity, I'd once been so enchanted by those eyes, now I merely wished to claw them out. So tempting—rip them free of the coppery face which now bore an ashen tinge, hook my fingers in the empty sockets and snap open the front of his bleeding skull...I merely grinned, a sharp grin. An unnatural one, all blades. I missed me so badly it hurt. It always hurt...pain is a universal constant.

"How would you like it if I got my payback now, Eilouran? If I did to you what you did to me?" He'd fallen off the tower. How fitting. He was dieing now. Surely he did not have much time left, broken as he was.

My elongated hand fluttered lightly to my chest, pressing against the cool flesh, feeling the sharp prick of broken bone, the ragged, stiffened edges of the gaping hole torn there so long ago. So empty. "If I tore out your heart, made you watch as I ripped it apart with my teeth, lapped your blood from your shattered chest?"

I could still feel it, a long, rough tongue along my ribs, dipping into the hole in me, still see pale eyes, cold and impersonal as ever, watching me as their owner killed me and drank my blood. I twitched involuntarily, hissing.

"Pin you to the ground, use your body and then throw it away." I could get what I'd wanted all these years. Oh, yes. The thought was too great for my poor, numbed, damaged mind; the split in my skull was hidden by long, thin, bedraggled red hair. Once it had been quite fine, a lustrous color. Ruby red. No color that any human had ever attained, a pure ruby. Now it was rusted. I was rusted. It hurt like Hell...

"He...Helamn..." the Telre-Hyen Fenne gasped, begged. He feared so greatly my vengeance. Oh yes. Too delicious to bear. Oh...oh it hurt...

"No. Don't even say my name anymore. Sick creature," I spat, letting my hand fall from my hollowed chest. I was so hollow...empty, but filled with pain that echoed hideously. I was hideous. I used to be...I used to be a moderately beautiful creature...

"I was always just the bastard bitch to you! Don't pretend you ever thought anything else of me now! The son—the daughter—the spawn of vermin. The twisted, beautiful, ugly, perfect, ruined product of that damned marriage!" I gasped for breath before realizing I had no lungs. "The bastard boy, the bitch girl, which one did you like more, Eilouran?! Which of me was it that made you rape me?!"

My shrieks were only for my own satisfaction. The broken creature before me had no answers. "It doesn't matter anymore." I felt suddenly tired and achy. I was so old. So worn. Pain is a constant. It didn't matter though...

"I spent...thirty years...pinned there..._waiting_ for you to come back to me. _Screaming_ for you." The bitter flash of metal teeth. I missed me. Poor Helamn. Poor, dead Helamn, you had your heart ripped out, girl...boy...whatever the _fuck_ you are. You offered your love everything, and he took it, too. You would cry if you saw me now. Saw yourself.

"I wanted so badly to kill you, Eilouran. I wanted to do to you all that you had done to me. Make you feel all the agony I felt." A twisted, melancholic smile on my gaunt face, sunken eyes had been blue once but now were only a milky whitish, filmed over, blind. I didn't use my eyes to see anyway. "But...but...I could never!"

And now I sobbed, bitter, tearless sobs—all my tears had long been used up—for what I'd never had. "I could never, because I could take your heart but never break it, not the way you broke mine. I could split your skull, but I could never fill it with the obsession, the desire, the _agony_ that loving you was. Do you understand that? Now I'm _dead_, and I don't want to kill you anymore. I'm too pathetic a creature." My unbroken sobbing was the only sound, in this place.

"You were going to do it to him, yes? Rip out his heart and eat it. Rape him. Steal him. Steal what he was, just like you stole what I was and used it to make you stronger. You were not content with being Hyen Fenne—you wanted to be a god. Would you have done that to your sister, as well? And Kesyaa? And all of us? Would you've?" I kicked him, the dull thud was so terribly satisfying. I did it again, digging my heel into his ribs. He moaned and whimpered piteously. Too delicious to bear; I used the tattered sleeve of my ancient, threadbare dressing gown to wipe the line of drool from the corner of my mouth, making a thin, trembling noise. What if I came apart now? Just shook to pieces? What if my body collapsed on itself? Then I supposed I might be free...but I still had to remember my old loyalties, from days gone by, until that happened.

"You would have eaten Iidas, you bastard. Left him atop my tower. Damn you! That place was _mine!!!_ I built it myself, stone by stone! Damn you to Hell for desecrating it!" I kicked him again, and the snap of ribs sent an unbelievable rush of giddy pleasure through my emaciated body, set me atremble to the point where I could barely remain upright. Oh God, nothing had ever felt so sweet! It seemed so thin and false now, what I'd felt for Eilouran. I'd loved him, but I'd been so very wrong.

"I would never let you hurt Iidas! You slayed your sister without thought, but I am not so cold. I protect my siblings. I would have found a way, even if I had not been loosed." His bonds over me had been broken, ripped free when... I was surprised I had not died the instant they had—I had thought they were the only thing sustaining me, the only reason my shattered corpse continued to function.

"I would have found a way..." Iidas, Iidas. My brash little brother who I'd depended on for sanity. He looked so much likeFather it was amazing, except he'd had those blue eyes—Mother's eyes. Always a bit of a fool, but then so were we all, and he was brave and pure. Honorable. Dependable. He'd often become my only friend in this cruel place.

I kicked Eilouran's crippled body again, wishing the creature would just _die_. Then maybe I...maybe I could find Iidas...wouldn't it be so wonderful to see my brother again...? Perchance he would take pity on me once more, hold me close like he had in olden days, stroke my hair and tell me things would be okay. Somehow they would. He didn't know how but they would. I missed him so much...

He had been born after me, ten years after, but he was more like an older brother. I'd needed a protector. He was there. I'd needed someone to remind me not all the world was sadistic and twisted and cold. Needed someone to help me with my tormented grief when Eilouran rejected me time after time. He'd encouraged me to chase after my dreams—but he'd never liked Eilouran, and had wished I would find someone better. If only I had listened...

Yes. I would find Iidas again. Would he know me? No, he wouldn't. He'd been reborn. Always, you would remember nothing of your past life. It was his sacrifice. Oh Iidas...given everything for us...for all of us. And bitter Eilouran had gone and wasted it. Damn his soul to Hellfire!

"Sick bastard," I seethed, "you would have killed Iidas even though he saved you." Eilouran was failing, fading. He would not be reborn. He had made no sacrifice, no act to help others. There would be no new life for him. How sweet it was. I decided not to let it wait. I wanted to find Iidas _now_.

I brought my foot down on his head, twitching euphorically at the noise it made when his skull shattered and the wet contents were sprayed across the dirt.

* * *

**D**

It had been a few weeks. It was six in the morning. It was time to be curled up in bed, still asleep. Unfortunately, Leon did not have the option of that luxury, and I was not about to just ignore him when he got up and barely managed to stagger to the bathroom. His discovery of just how horrible morning sickness could be was not a source of amusement, seeing as I always seemed to be getting up at the same time on his account. He was never quite cognitive enough to trust not to trip or some similar thing, and there was no way I could not pity him as he nearly doubled over, spitting up whatever was in his stomach. I rubbed his back comfortingly, listening in utter silence to his thick, miserable groans.

Jill had been making it a point to stop by regularly, all beaming smiles and cheerfulness. Any unsettledness she may have first felt upon learning that Leon was with child had since dissipated completely, replaced with excited happiness for the both of us. And a fair share of amused pity for poor Leon and what he was going through.

Time seemed to have started passing far too slowly, dragging itself out unbearably. Every day was spent through, dealing with customers, talking with Leon about the little details of having and raising a child, and all the basic things which must be done in a day. It was safe to say there was never a dull moment; Tet-chan, surly as ever, was starting fights with increasing regularity—probably because he was no longer allowed to even go near the Detective—and Pon-chan was all agiggle, could never stop talking giddily about the new baby on the way. Every night, I was glad to lay under the covers with Leon, eyes closed, body still. Nothing was better.

The blonde groaned again, and I sighed. At the very least, Leon had not yet had any bizarre changes in appetite. Though I certainly expected it eventually.

"D," he said after a long stretch of silence, "are kami-kids notoriously bad in this situation, or is this the way it _always_ goes?"

"I'm afraid that morning sickness is simply a normal part of pregnancy," I replied mildly. "The child being half-kami has nothing to do with it." He muttered bitterly. "And, of course, kami children are rather easy to raise, so you do not have so much to worry about there. Seeing as the entire family helps in rearing the young. Though, knowing you, there will be problems with some members of my family," I mused.

"Your family, huh?" he muttered. "Guess I'll actually get to meet 'em, then..." I nodded.

"I believe you will be meeting some of them soon, in fact. I have no doubt my grandfather informed them of your pregnancy." I was amused at the thought of Leon meeting my family. Some of them were so similar to my grandfather and I it was shocking; others, it seemed astounding that I was related to them at all. _Especially_ the twins.

"Hnn. Okay," Leon shifted, finally picking himself up, and I moved back slightly, giving him room just in case. "Lemme guess, you're gonna want me on my best behavior, and dressed up in onea those fancy-ass outfits, right?"

"Language, Leon..." I sighed in exasperation. Really, he cursed _far_ too often. "And no, I would not expect you to do any such thing. Honestly, I cannot predict some of my family member's behavior; a few of them are nearly as bad as you are. I can name two who are worse." Those two...

Then I heard the noise. A great disturbance; all the animals in the shop were suddenly crying out, half mad with fear. I was on my feet in an instant, rushing through the hall, dodging fleeing animals. Leon was right behind me.

And I jerked to a sudden halt, involuntarily making a surprised and disgusted noise that was close to a gag. The disturbance was a visitor. One of a very...unusual nature.

He—I assumed it was a he, anyway—was a walking corpse. That much was obvious. His thin nightgown was ripped to shreds, exposing his narrow chest, which had a gaping wound right in the center. An old wound. There wasn't even any blood left to stain the darkened edges of torn flesh. His entire form was skeletal, ash-colored skin clinging to bones, and his eyes peered out from their sockets blindly. His hair reached almost to his knees, the color of rust, stiffened and matted from neglect, and his hands were unusually long, fingers clawlike. Something about the way his mouth was set, in a thin, trembling line, seemed out of place, but I could not identify what it was.

"_**Sgoia Iidas**?_" the words came out as a croak, in a voice that was broken and uneven. I only stared at him, uncomprehending, but then he looked over my shoulder, straight at Leon. His next words were in heavily accented English, "Iidas...! I...I am sorry...that I come crawling to you like this...brother...I need your help again. Eilouran has hurt me again." I did not look behind me to see Leon's reaction, not daring take my eyes off this...this thing.

"Who are you?" I demanded, and he looked at me in blank confusion. "What are you?"

"I...I am Helamn...I was a **_Shie-Hyen Fenne_**...I...ah..." the living dead creature toppled suddenly forward, caught himself—just barely—on the wall. His entire body shook, and he flicked a blackened tongue across thin, cracked lips, swallowing pointlessly. "I am...was...Leoniidas's older sibling."

"...what happened to you?" Leon asked suddenly, walking around me. In his eyes was confused, fascinated, horrified recognition. He knew this Helamn. He just didn't know why he knew. Just like he didn't know why a voice out of his dreams spoke to him. "What happened, Helamn?" He stopped just before coming within reach of the trembling corpse.

"Eilouran killed me," Helamn spat bitterly, "a long time ago—thirty years, near as. He pinned me to the top of my tower—do you remember? My old tower? No. Of course not—and he...he..." He was unable to finish, his chest heaving with a cracked sob. He slid to his knees. "Oh God, Iidas, I'm empty, I'm hollow, I'm...I've died...but Eilouran wouldn't _let_ me die!" He wailed thinly, wrapping his arms around himself, nearly convulsing. "I can't...I can't just die..."

Then Leon had gone closer, had tugged that emaciated creature up and against him, and was motioning me to approach as well. I did so hesitantly.

"Look, D," Leon said, voice urgent, "I have no idea what the Hell's going on. But I remember—I think I remember—the name Helamn. A...not really a brother. This's _him_. Holy fuck..."

"You remember me, Iidas?" Helamn whispered, hopeful, pleading, and his glazed eyes did hold something now—the barest spark of—?

"Leon, do you think that tower...?" I murmured, and he nodded decisively.

"Without a doubt," the blonde replied grimly, while lifting up the sobbing, whimpering corpse of Helamn. "Hey, sshhh, okay? I'm gonna get you cleaned up some. Ssshh."

"O-okay," he whispered, stilling himself, slowly managing to control his sobs. Leon turned, heading back through the hall. The animals, which had been staring with wary curiosity, were now daring to approach.

"Oh, Iidas, Iidas—Eilouran was going to do to you what he did to me. He wanted to be a god, not a **_Hyen Fenne_**," the frail man murmured miserably, burying his face in Leon's rumpled shirt. "He would have caught us all, one by one, and...and...then he could've become a god if he..."

I remained silent, following as Leon headed down the hall, to the bathroom. I certainly agreed with Leon's decision; Helamn was filthy. And he would definitely need a change of clothes, but I would worry about that later.

"I don't—I can't really remember," Leon muttered, setting the corpse carefully down against the wall, twisting the faucet handles in the tub and waiting for the water to heat. "But I..."

"You were reborn," Helamn interrupted sadly. "You've lost all your memories, Iidas."

"Could you call me Leon?" he muttered, and the ashen creature whimpered.

"I—I am sorry—I—I will call you L-Leon if you...wish..." he half-sobbed, biting his lower lip. For the first time I saw his teeth.

Shards of metal. Mostly straight, a few bent, set right into the bone...more like driven in. I could not help but raise my hand as though to cover my own mouth in horror. Helamn did not fail to notice.

"Eilouran did this to me. I suppose he envied me my smile," he croaked, and I jerked my gaze away. The creature had been so utterly mangled...

Then Leon had finished preparing the tub, and, without a word, stripped the sad remains of Helamn's nightgown off of him, revealing that he was not, in fact, a he. Helamn was, in fact, totally sexless. Where his legs joined his body there was nothing at all but scarred skin. Leon didn't even pause, gently lifting the tortured creature and lowering him into the tub.

"Water too hot?"

"No..."

I felt slightly out of place for a moment. This was, it seemed, Leon's sibling. He was Leon's to take care of. But then, why should I not help? If he _was_ Leon's brother—for lack of a better term—then should he not be of some importance to me?

I kneeled down beside Leon, gently taking a handful of wet, wiry red hair, and a quick reach to a shelf produced a bottle of shampoo. I squeezed a generous amount into my palm and began working it into Helamn's rust-colored mane, managing not to grimace at the amount that was falling out—or had fallen out already, only held in place by the countless knots and tangles.

I could not imagine what it might possibly be like, nor did I wish to. The torn edges of the grotesque hole came apart in scraps and flakes in the water. I focused on washing Helamn's ill-tended hair, slowly working out the dirt and oil.

The whole ordeal took several hours, and when Helamn was finally helped out of the now cold water, it was startling how much of a difference there was. With all the dirt and grime washed off of his skin and out of his hair, he still resembled a dead man, but less so than he had. Some of the rusted tone had been lost from his mane, uncovering a rich, deep ruby, but it was still tarnished and aged. And there was no denying the hole in his chest, which he'd had to bend over awkwardly to dump the water out of. Not at all pleasant.

Then it was a matter of digging out something which would be suitable for the corpse to wear. Seeing as I was typically capable of uncovering whatever may be needed, a quick search produced a thick, unadorned gray robe, which Helamn gratefully wrapped himself up in. Almost immediately afterwards, he fell asleep, right where he'd been standing, and I caught him before he simply toppled over.

* * *

Endnotes:

There, y'see. Helamn is the big jump-forward for revealing things. But I guess I'm just not cut out for the endless dragging-onwards...and, anyway, Helamn is cool. For a dead freak.

Also, one other thing. I'm a dunce who needs to do more research before he writes stuff, so I _might_ be taking author's liberties with the pregancy—because I don't know the exact timeframes for the various stages, etc., like the weird appetite thing and how soon morning sickness usually starts and...y'know. So if I totally screw something over, it means I never did do that research X3


	10. Chapter 10: Family is a Pain

**Ink on Porcelain

* * *

**

Chapter 10:  
Family is a Pain

* * *

Author's Notes:  
This chapter hated me so much I nearly killed it out of spite.  
It was about that point my darling ::sarcasm:: PSoH muses started muttering threats to the continuation of my original stories. Well, Helamn and Delon didn't make threats, but anyway... In addition to that, I finally bought issue 9 of PSoH. Now I just need to wait for stupid Waldenbooks to pick up issue 10, and I'll _finally_ know what color D's dad's eyes are! Hopefully!

**Tysoyo Kalli**, it seems _everybody_ is already mildly obsessed with the twins! Haha. And, you'll find out what Leoniidas and Helamn were...eventually.  
**Ice Dragon3**, glad you like Helamn. As far as the paragraph lengths...well, yeah, they did get a bit overboard, but that, unfortunately, is the way Helamn narrates, and keeping characters _in_ character is more important than grammar, or even ease of reading. To me, anyway. Helamn won't do very much narrating of the story, at least, so that won't happen too often.  
Usually, I do write only what I like. Problem was, I didn't like it. But my muses did. And when it comes to writing, they own me.

* * *

**Leon**

Fuck. Fuck fuck fuck. Okay. Calm. Calm.

So my older brother—sort of brother—had shown up. And that had made the dream-voice go into a gleeful ramble, which was mostly in **_Hyessro_** and so made absolutely no sense to me.

I recognized him. Helamn. Somehow, somewhere, something in my mind had clicked. Helamn, the unfortunate, imperfect first-born, the one who didn't turn out quite right. The poor eldest kid who depended on his little brother. Mostly helpless, mostly pathetic, but honest, at least. He always put his all into things. That often came back to haunt him. He wasn't really a he at all—I remembered, he'd had a habit of becoming indecisive about his own sex, and he changed back and forth. It had been random for a long time, something beyond his control. Very, very awkward. Eventually he'd gotten it in hand, and had chosen the neutral as his usual state. He still did shift to one or another when he wanted to, though.

But while I remembered him and his quirks, I didn't remember anything _else_. I guess that's the way it goes. I also guess that made it true, that I wasn't a human. ...somehow, it seemed like that should've disturbed me more.

Okay. I was gonna refer to Helamn as my brother, 'cuz, while he did look pretty neutral, the simple fact was that it was hard to think of him as a woman when he didn't have any boobs. That settled, I became preoccupied with helping D carry the poor guy into a spare guest room—if I had to guess, I wouldn't've said that that room was there before, but oh well—and laying him out on the bed, tugging the covers up over him. It was really disturbing, how he didn't breathe, didn't move in the slightest. Literally dead to the world. I shook my head slightly, and then the both of us had left the room—Helamn looked like he was going to be asleep for a long time, if he woke up again at all. It was weird, how I knew all about him and yet hardly felt like I knew him. I wasn't sure if I wanted him to wake up again or not. For one thing, he was obviously in a lot of pain—not surprising, for what he'd obviously been through—and there was no way he would ever be able to leave the shop and just wander around if he wanted. Walking dead people get noticed out on the street. But Helamn _knew_. He knew about all this past life shit. He knew about this Iidas person who I used to be. And...well, it was kinda pointless not to want my brother to die when he was already dead, but that was the simple fact of it. He was dead, but he hadn't gone yet. And maybe...maybe D or one of D's family could help him? They were gods, after all...I looked over at the kami, the both of us just standing there in the hall, mulling over events. D looked back at me, and he immediately guessed at what I was gonna ask; he's good at that.

"No, Leon. I cannot return his life to him. There is some possibility, if several members of my family made a joint effort, we might make a plea to one of the higher gods that he might be restored, but it is not likely they will allow it," D's voice was calm and collected, but very sad. I sighed, muttering nothing in particular as I had a habit of doing, and headed up the hall into the main room, dropping myself more than sitting down on the couch. D followed and sat down with more grace beside me, putting his arms around my shoulders in an attempt to be comforting. I leaned against him, closing my eyes with another heavy sigh.

"I just feel bad for the poor bastard, y'know? He's always had a rotten life, and now he gets a rotten death too. S'not fair," I muttered, and D made a musing sound in the back of his throat.

"You remember something of Helamn from before?" he asked curiously, and I nodded without opening my eyes.

"He was the first born. Always had troubles. He would kinda switch back and forth between sexes unpredictably, until he got a hang of that. He was kinda a weak guy...not his fault, but he was. He just didn't have very good health or anything. He was the dependent type, too; he always had to run to someone whenever something bad happened," and almost always, the person he'd ran to had been me. "He was older than me, but he always said I was more of a bigger brother to 'im." Another musing sound, and then our conversation was cut short when the front door swung open. The lack of a knock lead me to expect Jill to come strolling through, but to my surprise, it was two people. D made a weird noise, sort of like a subdued, horrified groan, and I got the feeling he knew these two.

They were twins. That much was obvious; they were completely and utterly identical. Right down to the fact that one eye was a lavender-pinkish color and the other was deep green. Their hair, I guessed, was red, but it was so dark it may as well've been black, except for when the light caught it and made a deep, blood-colored sheen flicker over it. Obviously, these were the twins D had mentioned being in his family.

But they were not like I'd expected. For one thing, their clothing was decidedly un-Chinese. Tight-fitting, long-sleeved shirts—one wore purple, one wore green—with v-necked collars, and flare-leg jeans. The one in purple had a pink ribbon wound the whole way around his—I could definitely tell he was a guy, what with how close-fitting his shirt was—waist, in place of a belt, and the one in green had the cartilage of his right ear pierced, a small silver dragon earring in place there. Both of them looked a bit like D, except more sharp-featured, a little less delicate, a little more fiery. And both of them wore broad grins that looked somewhere between ecstatic and pure evil.

"Hah!" the one in purple laughed. "I _told_ you we would find the place, dumbass!" I couldn't help it; I gaped.Any similarity to D they might've still retained was struck dead the moment he'd opened his mouth. His voice was sharp, with a Hispanic sort of accent, and haughty.

"I never said we _wouldn't_, m'dear," the other snapped in an identical voice, giving his brother a flat look. "All I said was that you shouldn't've gone haring straight through the town like that. You attracted attention."

"Only because those idiots have never seen somebody ride a horse before! I swear, the age we live in..."

"Never seen a _purple horse_, I think you mean."

"Oh, so it was a little much. I didn't hurt anyone this time, anyway. At least I don't think I did. I didn't _actually_ step on that old woman, did I?" Their bickering was enough to make me burst out laughing at the sheer ridiculousness of it all. I was so used to D's attitude—and had never met any other kamis, his granddad didn't really count—that I had expected his entire family to be just like him, even with his brief warning that some of them were pretty bad. The pair of them looked at me, then, at exactly the same time, broke into a fit of raucous laughter.

"So you're Leon! Hm. Our cousin always did have good taste," the one in green nodded sagely, and the one in purple chuckled. "Oh, I'm Joel, my brother's Coel." That made me blink.

"You don't have some weird-ass Chinese names?" I demanded, and Coel snorted.

"Those aren't our _real_ names, o one of great intelligence," he laughed, and I growled at him. He only grinned at me, then yelped as his brother hit him over the back of the head, wearing a disdainful expression.

"Very sorry about Coel's manners," he didn't sound the least bit sorry in any way, shape, or form, "we really shouldn't be so nasty, now should we, Coel?" The purple-clad Coel muttered sourly, and Joel gave him a smile that suggested he would cause him pain at some later date. "I mean, Leon's going to be part of the family from now on, so we should at _least_—"

"Fuck you!" Coel retaliated viciously. "I won't treat him any specialer than I treat Dad!" Joel offered his twin a glare fit to kill.

"You're not allowed to chase him around with anything sharp. In fact, you're not allowed to _have_ anything sharp anymore," he warned, and Coel muttered something about Joel being no better about self-control with pointed objects.

I looked over at D and said, my voice utterly flat, "So this is what your family's like."

"No," he replied blandly, "this is just what the twins are like. They are the most chaotic creatures I have ever seen. If you must blame someone, blame their mother—she is half kami, half dragon." Wah. Half _dragon?!_ Now there was a weird mix. Joel grinned brightly.

"Yes, we're a quarter dragon! And we can prove it!" Coel laughed, but Joel whacked him across the skull again.

"Not indoors, jackass!" he hissed with annoyance. "You'll break something!"

"Like you haven't," Coel replied sourly, hunching his shoulders and giving his twin a reproachful glare. Joel rolled his eyes, then D finally spoke up to the two, apparently at last worn out by their endless fighting.

"I do not believe you two came here by yourselves," he said plainly, and Joel shook his head.

"No. Dad's...he's somewhere around here. I don't know where. Mom's wherever he is!" the kami said brightly, before mumbling something under his breath that I couldn't hear, and then Coel had him in a headlock, snarling something in _extremely_ fast-spoken Spanish. Joel replied just as rapidly, kicking his brother a few times uselessly, and then Coel let him go.

"What the Hell was that about?" I demanded, but Joel only tilted his head and gave me a mysterious smile. Coel, on the other hand, was perfectly pleased to answer, making me wish I had kept my mouth _shut_.

"Darling brother Joel said they're probably off fucking again, because they've been across the country from each other for thirteen years!" he said cheerfully, and then suddenly he was on the floor, having been pounced and knocked over by an enraged Joel, who was screaming something in vehement Spanish. Within moments the two were brawling viciously, no care at all for the fact that they were making themselves look like idiot teenagers. D sighed heavily, putting a hand to his temple as though the pair had induced a headache. Not surprising.

It took a long time for D to get Coel and Joel settled down enough that they stopped fighting like kids. Which, by the way, proved to be more than a little dangerous; anyone who tried to get between the twins was immediately turned on by both, the two seemingly becoming one for the few seconds it took them to verbally-and-physically beat back anyone who might inhibit their battle.

It wasn't that long after the twins had finally ceased attempting to kill each other that D's aunt and uncle finally put in an appearance. D's uncle, unsurprisingly, looked a lot like D, except the chagrinned smile he had seemed so natural on his face it was like he always wore it. Considering how his kids behaved around company, he probably _did_ always wear it. The two terrors were not even attempting to look innocent; they were snickering and having some sort of weird, private conversation that I doubt even their parents could understand. D's aunt, however, was...different. Orange eyes so livid they just about glowed, a mane—literally, a _mane_, unless she had the weirdest hairstylist I'd never seen—of deep berry-red, and she was wearing this gauzy...thing that could hardly be called a dress. I guess she could get away with it, though, since underneath she had scales. Oh yeah, the D'd mentioned the twins' mom was part dragon. Shit. Dragon-lady. She had a small, polite smile, curious but pausing to chastise her children in soft-spoken...some language or other. Then she turned around sharply, making her gauzy-thing flutter lightly.

"Hello, young D," the woman greeted, smooth as silk, with a calm sort of...distant fondness. Those orange eyes settled on me, and her smile twitched. Whether to widen or fade, I really couldn't guess. "Hello, Leon. I am very pleased to meet you. Young D's grandfather said...much."

"And none of it very good, I'm sure," I chuckled forcedly, attempting to lighten the mood. That little smile quirked a notch bigger. Okay, so that worked alright.

"Oh, not so bad as all that...yes, he said you are brash, stupid, and terribly chaotic with vile language, but even the elder D admitted you had a good heart." And she cast a sideways glance at Joel and Coel. "Much like my two have good hearts, even if they are far hidden under God knows what. I think young D has done very well for himself in choosing you, all things considered." That was, quite possibly, the weirdest complement I'd ever received.

"Um...thanks?" I wasn't sure how one was supposed to reply to a comment like that, so I just left it at that. Then the uncle-kami cleared his throat abashedly. He seemed like a kinda mild, almost timid sort of a guy. Weird.

"We have not introduced ourselves," he said quietly, embarrassment plain on his face. "You may call me Rion, and my mate's name is Cyednhe."

"Wait—your _name?_ As in your _real_ name?" I was almost starting to wonder if all these kami things were so old they just forgot their own real names, but the dragon-lady nodded.

"My true full name is Cyednhenossokiatuang Hesdouakito," she said plainly, and I bet I looked a little like a fish, gaping so wide-mouthed as I was. "My father was an Aztec dragon, and they have an affinity for long names."

"No shit!" I managed to gasp out. D mumbled something about language and Coel—I think it was Coel, anyway—snickered.

"We have really long names too," both twins said as one, "but we don't think there's any point in telling you, since you'll only forget anyway. Only Mom uses our full names, and only when she's really mad."

Most of the time after that was just spent talking. It was weirdly easy, chatting it up with D's aunt and uncle; and I found that Joel and Coel were only a hundred and fifty, which meant, according to dragon-lady, that they were still young children by kami standards. D hastened to inform me that _he_ had never acted like that when he was young, and Cyednhe—who I kept calling "Sidney" because it was pronounced _almost_ the same and easier to remember—accused "young D" of implying she was not good at raising her own children, both of them maintaining as polite and civil an air as they could while taking shots at each other. Through that I found out D was around nine-hundred and seventy six years old—Goddamn, he was almost one fucking thousand!—while Sid, er, Cyednhe was closer to ten thousand. Well, that's one way to make somebody feel young, anyway.

By the time they left, I was getting kinda frustrated. Joel and Coel had to act up every ten minutes—those two couldn't just sit still—and Cyednhe was kinda creepy. Rion rarely said anything at all, and I had almost forgotten he was there by the time he said goodbye and left.

To put everything in short, D's family was proving to be as freakish as mine. And I didn't even _know_ most of my family. Just vague little whispers in the back of my head.

* * *

**D**

For the first meeting, I must admit, it went better than I had expected. But then, I had to admit, those _were_ the most likely relatives of mine to get along with Leon—they were...less than conventional.

As soon as they were gone, it seemed that Leon's main concern was getting himself—and me, seeing as he grabbed my wrist and dragged me along with him—back to the bedroom. I followed without protest, amused, to some extent, by how impatient he could be. Although, I suppose he wanted to enjoy this while he could, seeing as once he was further into the pregnancy such acts as he was clearly intent on would cease.

"C'mon, D..." he whispered, his voice growing husky. With a teasing smile I obliged, slithering out of my clothing and atop him on the bed, tugging down his undergarments. But then he did something I did not expect, wrapping his arms around me and rolling over so that I was pinned beneath him.

"Leon..." I began, not certain what I was going to say—that, perhaps, I was still very unused to allowing another to have control in such a situation? When I had allowed Leon to have a turn as the dominant previously...that had been the first time in my entire life I had ever done such a thing. It was only natural, I supposed, that I should feel the one in control, as I was in nearly every other area of my own life. But Leon could very easily turn all that on its head.

I did not need to worry about finishing whatever I was trying to say, as he roughly claimed my mouth with his, his tongue plunging inside, and I allowed myself to focus only the kiss, the sensuous battle our tongues underwent.

Then Leon's mouth pulled away, sliding down my throat, nipping at my collarbone, tongue flicking across a nipple, and I allowed myself the barest, softest sigh. Leon had mentioned once before how odd it was that I was always so silent, but it was not as though I made a conscious decision to be. He often made enough noise for the both of us, in any case, so I could not see that it mattered all that much.

Leon moved back up, whispering in my ear, "Roll over." I gave him an uncertain look, not so sure I was comfortable with this turn of events, but decided, with all that he had sacrificed for my sake, the least I could do was relent control of my body to him. Temporarily. I pushed him back just enough that I could turn over onto my stomach, looking back at him over my shoulder, waiting to see what he was intending next.

Leon wrapped his arms around my waist and lifted me, coaxing me into rising onto all fours, and I frowned very slightly at him.

"Leon, this is..." again, I could not quite seem to give voice to my opinion, that it was slightly degrading to be in a position such as this. I firmly told myself to stop being so selfish, to simply allow the man what he wanted.

"C'mon, D," he murmured, his hands stroking my sides, convincing me to forget the entire matter and just feel, another tiny sigh escaping my lips. My eyes drifted shut, my body relaxing under his gentle caress, silently submitting to him. For the time being. It was surprisingly easy to do, with his hands on me as they were, fingertips running down my stomach, stroking between my legs.

Most of my thought had ceased, focused wholly on the sensations, leading me not to notice in the least when one of Leon's hands left me, reaching instead to hunt in the bedside drawer. His actions did not register until one slickened finger was pressed into me, and my body jerked forward with a less-quiet gasp.

"Ssh, baby," he murmured, and the pet-name alone was enough to make a tiny smirk curl my lips as I looked back at him. Then he slid his digit wholly inside and added another, and I was vaguely aware that I made some sort of odd, barely audible sound, allowing my eyes to fall closed again, my lips parted as my breathing grew heavy.

It did not take me too long to realize that Leon was waiting for something, his fingers continuing to work inside of me far longer than was necessary. Either he was purposefully trying to drive me mad, or he wanted me to beg—and, considering that this was Leon, the latter seemed much more likely.

I bit my lower lip and shuddered, unwilling to give in. No matter that I doubted I could endure this teasing much longer, especially when his free hand closed firmly between my legs, holding but not stroking.

"D," he hissed, imploring me to just give in, to plead for it. Quite deliberately, the tips of his probing fingers pressed down upon the place he'd found inside of me, and, completely involuntarily, my back arched, and I threw my head back, staring upwards unseeingly and gasping for breath.

"Leon, please!" I was barely aware of hearing my own voice whimper, and then he withdrew his hand and, in one, smooth motion, pushed himself into my body. I very nearly collapsed, trembling and pushing back against him, panting like some sort of animal in heat.

When he started to buck his hips, a small, mostly-strangled moan escaped me, only to be repeated when his one hand started to stroke, his other gripping my hip not quite hard enough to bruise.

I could not tell which of us finished first; I only knew that I collapsed immediately afterwards, reduced to a shaking heap on the soaked bed. Leon groaned lowly as he pulled out, sprawling beside me and wrapping his arms about me, holding me half-crushed against him.

"Oh...Leon..." I didn't quite whimper, my trembling hands gripping his shoulders. He prevented me from talking by kissing me firmly, stroking my hair. There were no more words after that. I still felt slightly upset that he had forced me to beg, but I stamped firmly on that—I would not allow myself to be so selfish. I had already had Leon begging for me more than once, it was only to be expected that the reverse would occur sooner or later.

I am fairly certain we were both completely aware that we needed to clean up the mess we had made, but neither of us really enjoyed the thought of moving about. I, for one, was feeling slightly battered—Leon could be rough at times—and he was on the verge of falling asleep.

"Leon," I said quietly, "we have to clean up..." He muttered at my suggestion, before finally climbing off the bed. He pulled me with him as he stood, and I did not protest as I was dragged towards the bathroom.

* * *

End Notes:  
Huzzah. I realized that we'd not got to see any of the action from D's point of view, so I rectified that! There should be some cheesy music here or something.  
Bwaha. ...that makes me recall that someone once put D to the song "Voodoo," and that makes no sense to me. I always associated D and Leon's complicated in-manga relationship somehow or other with Coldplay's "Shiver." But maybe I'm just a freak.


	11. Chapter 11: Speaker for the Flame

**Ink on Porcelain

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**

Chapter 11:  
Speaker for the Flame

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Author's Notes:  
Zuup zuup. We finally find out some more interesting stuff.  
Also, I looked back over the chapter where Helamn narrates for the first time, and decided to fix the cumbersome paragraphs. Helamn got mad at me for it, but tough.  
At last, I own issue 10 of the manga, making me realize that several of the things that I used in this fic are screwed up, but oh well. It's AU! Next on the agenda is to pick up the anime on DVD!

* * *

**D**

The day was surprisingly uneventful, considering the way it had begun. Leon was not amused when Ten-chan turned his appearance into a somewhat comical copy of the Detective, and Pon-chan and Tet-chan got into a mildly violent spat over something obscure. Only one notable customer visited the shop, and I was rather certain that the woman would be fine; she was every bit as hot-tempered and unpredictable as the cerberus which chose her. I found it amusing how all the customers seemed to have taken it as a matter of course that there was always a rather misplaced-looking blondewandering about the shop.

Thusly, I had little to worry about throughout the day, aside from the lingering soreness in the lower half of my body. Unpleasant, but easy enough to ignore. However, such peace cannot stay for long, as I have long since learned.

When Helamn woke, it was not surprising he immediately started to search for Leon. If not for a particularly helpful cat, the creature would very likely have gotten hopelessly lost within the shop. As it was, I must admit he startled me when he stepped suddenly into the room. He resembled nothing so much as a lost child.

"**_Eiressu_**, Leon," he mumbled, trembling. "**_Sgoia_**?"

"You will have to speak English," I suggested. "I am afraid neither of us are very knowledgeable of **_Hyessro_**." He tilted his head, staring at me as though he couldn't remember who I was, then sighed.

"I am sorry, **_mensaa_**. I am...not used to it," he whispered, standing there and looking uncertain. Then he glanced downwards when Pon-chan tugged on the hem of his robe. I could not quite say what I saw flicker across the battered creature's face when he saw her, and I wondered which it was that he saw; a raccoon-like creature, or a little girl?

"You're Leon's brother?" she asked, and Helamn nodded a little. She smiled brightly, but refrained from climbing up Helamn's robe as she might have. He looked as though he would simply topple over if she tried.

"**_Mensaa_**?" I questioned, the word feeling odd on my tongue. I missed the pronunciation by a small degree, something which was quite odd; I was usually very good at articulating, even in languages I did not know the meanings of. Helamn looked uncomfortable, lowering his gaze and his shoulders slightly.

"It is—well, you are my brother's **_hasduin_**, so I just thought—um. **_Hasduin_**, it is something—a **_Hyen Fenne_**'s 'perfect.' Their mate, you would say, the one who is matched to them. Times...have changed," he gave Leon, who was remaining silent, an odd look, which made the blonde shake his head slightly. He did not know what the look was supposed to mean. Helamn's miserable expression only deepened at that, and he wavered a little on his feet, but managed to stay upright. "...**_mensaa_** is the term for a relative's **_hasduin_**. If one is being respectful."

"C'mon, siddown," Leon said suddenly, gesturing at the couch across from us. Helamn obeyed hesitantly, perched on the very edge and trembling. My Detective sighed, clearly seeing there was only one way to calm the unliving creature down a bit. One arm tightening about my shoulders, he looked at me imploringly. I nodded. "All right, fine. C'mere."

Helamn made a whimpering sort of noise when he did as Leon said, curling up against his younger brother and trembling.

"I spent thirty years," the strange being whispered hoarsely, "a prisoner within my own home. But...you're back now, Ii—Leon..." He sobbed, once, catching himself and choking back his tears. "Eilouran was trying to increase his power through cannibalism. Neilfer didn't know all of what he was doing. She thought he would catch a **_Hyen-Fenne_** and, at the appropriate time, drink their blood. She didn't know that he was killing them. Not until she found me, and then she rebelled. She set me free, broke the bonds Eilouran had placed upon me."

There was no verbal reply which one could come up with at that. The rest went unspoken; if Neilfer had not found Helamn and learned the truth of her brother's intentions, Leon would have shared his older brother's fate. Tentatively, I reached out and stroked Helamn's dull red hair, like I was trying to calm an upset beast. Considering I still did not really know what a **_Hyen Fenne_** was, I supposed that I might have been. Eilouran and Neilfer had both possessed animal forms.

Leon put his arm around the frail creature's shoulders, and Helamn immediately broke into harsh sobs. For the longest time he did nothing but cry, broken with the occasional whimper in **_Hyessro_**.

When he finally recovered himself enough to speak, the first thing he whispered was, "My family is the only good thing that has ever been in my life."

"I can't remember them," Leon replied. "I can remember you, but it's...weird."

"You had to be reincarnated," Helamn replied. "It is no surprise you have lost all your memories. Eilouran must have jarred some when he captured you."

"Who _was_ that creep, anyway?" Leon asked, and Helamn took a deep breath he did not need.

"Eilouran and Neilfer were **_Telre-Hyen Fenne_**. **_Telre_** is Wind, the third of the Great Four. The Great Four are **_Shie_**, Fire; **_Taey_**, Earth; **_Telre_**, Wind; and **_Diin_**, Water.

"**_Hyen_** is 'voice.' **_Fenne_** is a god. Thusly, a **_Hyen Fenne_** is a Voice of a God. The first of us were created as ambassadors for the Four, but through generations, through crossbreeding, the blood has thinned. We are...elemental incarnations, I suppose is the closest equivalent."

There was an extended silence, as all present attempted to digest this information. Helamn seemed almost to be drifting to sleep, now, calmed at last. Leon was staring off into space, doubtlessly listening to that strange dreamspeaker which had been plaguing him.

"So...a **_Shie-Hyen Fenne_**...is a fire incarnate?" the blonde Detective asked at last, and Helamn blinked, clearly become drowsy and vaguely unaware.

"Yes," he replied at last, "as am I, and little **_Kesyaa_**, and **_Eoui_**—um. Kesyaa is the youngest in the family. She is our sister, and still a child. The little one," he gestured at Pon-chan, who was listening intently, "reminded me of her as I had seen her last. **_Eoui_** just means...'mother.' We are far from pureblooded, but never before has one of our kind mixed with the kamis. We avoid them as a general rule."

"...oh," Leon said at last. "...Why?"

"Old reasons," Helamn replied softly. "Dead reasons. In days long gone by, our masters—lesser gods who served the Great Four, and as such had jurisdiction over us—were not fond of the kamis, for their own reasons which they never shared with us. It was outlawed that **_Hyen Fennes_** ever allowed the bloodlines to become tainted with any kami lineage." He glanced over at me quickly, as though trying to see if he had offended. "Our masters have fallen to silence, and no longer do they command us."

Once he stopped talking, the silence that fell seemed very nearly unbreakable. At least until the door swung open, Jill striding in with a broad grin ready.

"Hey, guys! ...Oh? What's going on?" she blinked at Helamn, who blinked right back, though a bit more sleepily.

"Oh, um," Leon began, "this is my brother, Helamn."

"Brother?" was Jill's incredulous reply. "I thought you were an only kid!" Leon's response was a sort of uncertain chuckle.

"So did I," he said. "Helamn just sorta...showed up." Jill gave them both a suspicious look, flicking her eyes back and forth between them.

"You two look absolutely nothing alike," she observed, and Helamn lowered his head a little, staring at his hands. I wondered how long it would take the woman to notice that the redhead did not breathe.

"It's kinda complicated," Leon supplied. He looked over at Helamn, who hunched his shoulders uncomfortably without looking up.

"I look like Mother," he explained, "while Ii—_Leon_ looks like Father." He shook his head sharply. Apparently, he was reluctant to give anything away of his abnormal heritage to this woman. Of course, he did not know that we had already made Jill quite a close confidant.

"It seems that Leon," I mused aloud for Jill's sake, "is no more who he appears than any of us are." I looked at Helamn curiously. "What, then, would be your and Leon's full names? If your kind even has such things."

"We do not have very long names," he replied, shaking his head. "Leon is Leoniidas, and I am just Helamn. Our bloodname, the name of our family, is Kietfyl. It is not a very old line, only started with my grandfather." Then, abruptly, he looked very uncomfortable. "The oldest bloodline was Eilouran's, the line of Heesiu. The only way a bloodline can maintain itself without changing is...um...well, our kind is not troubled by the usual detrimental effects of inbreeding, and that is the only way to keep the blood pure. Nearly all of our family members have relationships only with those directly related to them."

Jill was very, very silent. The entire _room_ was very, very silent. That was, perhaps, the best and fastest way to make everyone register that these creatures, these **_Hyen Fenne_**, were very much a race of their own, with their own culture. Helamn definately had a knack for ill-timed remarks, it seemd. I had a naturally accepting nature for such...quirks, but it seemed unlikely that Jill or Leon would have so easy a time letting the matter fall without further comment.

"...um," Leon said at last. I could only imagine what sort of discomfort he might be enduring, having just heard that most of his family practiced incest. "Uh..."

"Iidas," Helamn said, making a little gesture to show Jill he was talking about Leon, "has mostly lost his past through his reincarnation."

"Yeah," the blonde Detective agreed. "That's...just one of the many little details I had no idea 'bout."

Things, somehow, managed to work around this oddity. Bit by little bit, Jill began to work more out of Helamn, avoiding more bizarre subjects, sticking to familiar territory. She evenprovided unexpected moral support when the ruined creature started to sob again, but a rather startled expression came onto her face when she put a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"You're...really cold," she said at last, and Helamn raised his face from his palms to look at her oddly.

"I am dead," he said, as though it should have been obvious. Well, he did look more like a corpse than a living person, but I suppose she had simply assumed he was not in the best of health. "I was killed by the man who I was smitten with."

Yet again, instant silence. Jill slowly withdrew her hand, her eyes growing very wide, and Helamn looked at her for a moment while before standing abruptly.

"I am sorry," he rasped out, his voice barely audible. "I did not mean to frighten you. I...should go." And then he left, running out of the room and barely managing to maintain his balance along the way.

* * *

**Helamn**

I would have said I wanted to die, but I was already dead, so that would've been a pointless wish.

I didn't have any idea where I was by this point, lost somewhere in this strange domain. Of course it was strange, it was the lair of a kami.

A kami...what a curiosity. And a welcome distraction, as I curled my aching body up into as tight a ball as I could manage, somewhere in a dark corner. I didn't want to think about anything, but that was hard to do, so I thought about the strange occurrence. Me, in the thick of a kami's territory.

I...had not lied to Iidas. Lying and not telling the whole truth were different things. I had not wanted to upset him, or his perfect, and so I had only told him part of the reason why Hyen Fenne avoided kamis.

There had only been a few kamis which knew about us, knew we existed. I hoped they were all deceased, or gone elsewhere, so they would not cause trouble for Iidas...those kamis...had been unpleasant sorts.

It was sort of a shame, that Iidas would, eventually, remember the events of his former life. And he would remember the whole reason why Hyen Fenne feared kamis. Yes, we feared them; feared them greatly, for they were more powerful than us. They were gods, while we were merely the servants of gods. Created solely to obey the Great Four, to obey those under the Great Four.

Those kamis that had known us had not liked us very much. Their reasons remained their own; getting a kami to explain anything at all was very nearly impossible. They had discovered, in due course of time, that because they were gods—lesser gods, perhaps, but still gods—they could claim superiority over us.

It was a nightmarish experience, to be forced back into subservience after so many years of wandering free. And the kamis had no consideration for that, at least not the one which I myself had met. The kami which had bound my father to her side and had decided she did not care to release her pet...after all, he was not a beast of the natural world, and thusly she had no need to be concerned for his health.

Father had been strong, with an iron will and no fear, no despair. When that woman had finally reappeared, she'd returned him to us broken to the point where none of us could recognize him, and he had not lived long. I could not predict what sort of reaction Iidas would have, when he remembered that.

Of course, those that truly _liked_ our kind were few. We had, according to most other races, filthy habits—I myself was born of a bloodline so twisted that I could name three different ways my mother and I were related. We were, compared to many, pitiful excuses for beings—created solely to be trodden upon, to be kicked about and used. It was a given that most other creatures would be contemptuous of us. That was why we were not open about what we were.

Iidas had clearly been disgusted. Most creatures would be. I could not be, for it was the way I was. Denying that would have been foolish and pointless. But Iidas had been re-born, re-raised, re-taught.

I did not know what would happen when his memories came back. When he remembered that he had not only accepted but _practiced_ incest. How many times had I nearly gone mad from frustration, and only Iidas would take pity on me?

And now...would he even be able to look at me again? Simply because he'd comforted me in the dead hours of the night, when no one else would?

It went without saying that everything had changed. Iidas had a perfect, now. I was alone again. I no longer had anyone, not even wretched Eilouran.

The pain in me had given way to numbness, and I began to wonder if I would be able to move again. My limbs were certainly not responding right now, and I imagined I looked like some bit of refuse, tossed into a dark hallway and left to rot.

"Hmm. What have we here?" mused a voice that lilted out of the dark. Something about that voice made me quiver; I recognized it, I _knew_ I did. Deep and velvet-rich, but where had I heard it before? I could not raise my head to look, as I heard the clicking footsteps approaching. "Oh, yes. I'd heard about you from the others. The Detective's strange brother. What was your name again?"

"Helamn," I whispered in reply. There was a muffled thud—I assumed it was as the stranger sat down on the floor beside me—and suddenly an arm was about my stiff shoulders.

"You don't look too great," the person informed me, and I flinched and managed to withdraw further. Apparently my cold limbs had only needed the proper motivation. "Sorry, no offense meant. I heard about your situation from one of the others." The arm about my shoulders squeezed a little tighter.

I had nothing to say, so I maintained my silence. The stranger, however, did not seem to keen on following my lead and staying quiet.

"Well, I'm sure things can't be so bad, can they? I mean, you _did_ manage to find this place!" they announced, and suddenly a hand was lifting my head by the chin, forcing me to look at this stranger. If my heart had still been beating, it would have stopped.

* * *

**Leon**

Of course, _I_ was the one who had to go and look for Helamn. Even though it was Jill's fault he'd run away in the first place. Also of course, she would probably get lost if she wandered around here, whereas I could always seem to find my way to where I was going—eventually.

I froze when I did manage to find him. Or rather, he found me, running straight into me and immediately trying to hide himself against me, sobbing and shaking and all but clawing me in his panic.

"**_Auchou_**!" he yelped, finally collapsing. I caught him before he hit the ground, looking up to try and find out what the Hell'd terrified him so badly. He was gibbering in **_Hyessro_**, speaking a mile a minute.

And then I found out why.

* * *

Endnotes:  
What!? The chapter ends here!? Yes. It does.

Also, there's a note I'd like to make. When Helamn talks, the written-out version makes it seem like he speaks English pretty well. However, this is not the case. Helamn has a very heavy accent and he slurs his words and he lisps. However, if I wrote all his lines like that, it would become _quite_ difficult to interpret. As far as what his accent sounds like...it's...kinda hard to describe.


End file.
